Coding together at scale:GitHub as a collaborative social network

GitHub is the most popular repository for open source code (Finley 2011). It has more than 3.5 million users, as the company declared in April 2013, and more than 10 million repositories, as of December 2013. It has a publicly accessible API and, since March 2012, it also publishes a stream of all the events occurring on public projects. Interactions among GitHub users are of a complex nature and take place in different forms. Developers create and fork repositories, push code, approve code pushed by others, bookmark their favorite projects and follow other developers to keep track of their activities. In this paper we present a characterization of GitHub, as both a social network and a collaborative platform. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first quantitative study about the interactions happening on GitHub. We analyze the logs from the service over 18 months (between March 11, 2012 and September 11, 2013), describing 183.54 million events and we obtain information about 2.19 million users and 5.68 million repositories, both growing linearly in time. We show that the distributions of the number of contributors per project, watchers per project and followers per user show a power-law-like shape. We analyze social ties and repository-mediated collaboration patterns, and we observe a remarkably low level of reciprocity of the social connections. We also measure the activity of each user in terms of authored events and we observe that very active users do not necessarily have a large number of followers. Finally, we provide a geographic characterization of the centers of activity and we investigate how distance influences collaboration.

The effects of cultural distance on student socialization and departure decisions

Organizational socialization theory and university student retention literature support the concept that social integration influences new recruits' level of satisfaction with the organization and their decision to remain. This three-phase study proposes and tests a Cultural Distance Model of student retention based on Tinto's (1975) Student Integration Model, Louis' (1980) Model of Newcomer Experience, and Kuh and Love's (2000) theory relating cultural distance to departure from the organization. ^ The main proposition tested in this study was that the greater the cultural distance, the greater the likelihood of early departure from the organization. Accordingly, it was inferred that new recruits entering the university culture experience some degree of social and psychological distance. The extent of the distance correspondingly influences satisfaction with the institution and intent to remain for subsequent years. ^ The model was tested through two freshman student surveys designed to examine the effects of cultural distance on non-Hispanics at a predominantly Hispanic, urban, public university. The first survey was administered eight weeks into their first Fall semester and the second at the end of their first year. Student retention was determined through their re-enrollment for the second Fall semester. Path analysis tested the viability of the hypothesis relating cultural distance to satisfaction and retention as suggested in the model. Logistic regression tested the model's predictive power. ^ Correlations among variables were significant, accounting for 54% of variance in students' decisions to return for the second year with 96% prediction accuracy. Initial feelings of high cultural distance were related to increased dissatisfaction with social interactions and institutional choice at the end of the first year and students' intention not to re-enroll. Path analysis results supported the view that the construct of culture distance incorporates both social and psychological distance, and is composed of beliefs of institutional fit with one's cultural expectations, individual comfort with the fit, and the consequent sense of “belonging” or identifying with the institution. ^

Social Capital and International Migration from Latin America

We combine data from the Latin American Migration Project and the Mexican Migration Project to estimate models predicting the likelihood of taking of first and later trips to the United States from five nations: Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Peru. The models test specific hypotheses about the effects of social capital on international migration and how these effects vary with respect to contextual factors. Our findings confirm the ubiquity of migrant networks and the universality of social capital effects throughout Latin America. They also reveal how the sizes of these effects are not uniform across settings. Social capital operates more powerfully on first as opposed to later trips and interacts with the cost of migration. In addition, effects are somewhat different when considering individual social capital (measuring strong ties) and community social capital (measuring weak ties). On first trips, the effect of strong ties in promoting migration increases with distance whereas the effect of weak ties decreases with distance. On later trips, the direction of effects for both individual and community social capital is negative for long distances but positive for short distances.

When wolves cry: long distance calling by wild maned wolves

The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus Illiger 1815) is the biggest canid in South America and it is considered a “near threatened” species by IUCN. Because of its nocturnal, territorial and solitary habits, there are still many understudied aspects of their behavior in natural environments, including acoustic communication. In its vocal repertoire, the wolf presents a longdistance call named “roar-bark” which, according to literature, functions for spacing maintenance between individuals and/or communication between members of the reproductive pair inside the territory. In this context, this study aimed: 1) to compare four methods for detecting maned wolf’s roar-barks in recordings made in a natural environment, in order to elect the most efficient one for our project; 2) to understand the night emission pattern of these vocalizations, verifying possible weather and moon phases influences in roarbark’s emission rates; and 3) to test Passive Acoustic Monitoring as a tool to identify the presence of maned wolves in a natural environment. The study area was the Serra da Canastra National Park (Minas Gerais, Brazil), where autonomous recorders were used for sound acquisition, recording all night (from 06pm to 06am) during five days in December/2013 and every day from April to July/2014. Roar-barks’ detection methods were tested and compared regarding time needed to analyze files, number of false positives and number of correctly identified calls. The mixed method (XBAT + manual) was the most efficient one, finding 100% of vocalizations in almost half of the time the manual method did, being chosen for our data analysis. By studying roarbarks’ temporal variation we verified that the wolves vocalize more in the early hours of the evening, suggesting an important social function for those calls at the beginning of its period of most intense activity. Average wind speed negatively influenced vocalization rate, which may indicate lower sound reception of recorders or a change in behavioral patterns of wolves in high speed wind conditions. A better understanding of seasonal variation of maned wolves’ vocal activity is required, but our study already shows that it is possible to detect behavioral patterns of wild animals only by sound, validating PAM as a tool in this species’ conservation.

L'institutionnalisation de la formation à distance au Québec : le cas de la Télé-université (1972-1992)

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Forces of agglomeration and dispersal in rural business networks: a social network analysis

Two concepts in rural economic development policy have been the focus of much research and policy action: the identification and support of clusters or networks of firms and the availability and adoption by rural businesses of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). From a theoretical viewpoint these policies are based on two contrasting models, with clustering seen as a process of economic agglomeration, and ICT-mediated communication as a means of facilitating economic dispersion. The study’s conceptual framework is based on four interrelated elements: location, interaction, knowledge, and advantage, together with the concept of networks which is employed as an operationally and theoretically unifying concept. The research questions are developed in four successive categories: Policy, Theory, Networks, and Method. The questions are approached using a study of two contrasting groups of rural small businesses in West Cork, Ireland: (a) Speciality Foods, and (b) firms in Digital Products and Services. The study combines Social Network Analysis (SNA) with Qualitative Thematic Analysis, using data collected from semi-structured interviews with 58 owners or managers of these businesses. Data comprise relational network data on the firms’ connections to suppliers, customers, allies and competitors, together with linked qualitative data on how the firms established connections, and how tacit and codified knowledge was sourced and utilised. The research finds that the key characteristics identified in the cluster literature are evident in the sample of Speciality Food businesses, in relation to flows of tacit knowledge, social embedding, and the development of forms of social capital. In particular the research identified the presence of two distinct forms of collective social capital in this network, termed “community” and “reputation”. By contrast the sample of Digital Products and Services businesses does not have the form of a cluster, but matches more closely to dispersive models, or “chain” structures. Much of the economic and social structure of this set of firms is best explained in terms of “project organisation”, and by the operation of an individual rather than collective form of “reputation”. The rural setting in which these firms are located has resulted in their being service-centric, and consequently they rely on ICT-mediated communication in order to exchange tacit knowledge “at a distance”. It is this factor, rather than inputs of codified knowledge, that most strongly influences their operation and their need for availability and adoption of high quality communication technologies. Thus the findings have applicability in relation to theory in Economic Geography and to policy and practice in Rural Development. In addition the research contributes to methodological questions in SNA, and to methodological questions about the combination or mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods.

L'institutionnalisation de la formation à distance au Québec : le cas de la Télé-université (1972-1992)

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Perspectives on gender, migration and transnational work: joint work of social reproduction and care in Southern Europe

This paper presents the "state of the art" and some of the main issues discussed in relation to the topic of transnational migration and reproductive work in southern Europe. We start doing a genealogy of the complex theoretical development leading to the consolidation of the research program, linking consideration of gender with transnational migration and transformation of work and ways of survival, thus making the production aspects as reproductive, in a context of globalization. The analysis of the process of multiscale reconfiguration of social reproduction and care, with particular attention to its present global dimension is presented, pointing to the turning point of this line of research that would have taken place with the beginning of this century, with the rise notions such as "global care chains" (Hochschild, 2001), or "care drain" (Ehrenreich and Hochschild, 2013). Also, the role of this new agency, now composed in many cases women who migrate to other countries or continents, precisely to address these reproductive activities, is recognized. Finally, reference is made to some of the new conceptual and theoretical developments in this area.

Influência do Suporte Social e dos Estilos de Coping na Percepção de Bem-estar Subjectivo em Doentes Mentais Crónicos

O objectivo do presente estudo consistiu em verificar a influência do suporte social e dos estilos de coping sobre a percepção de bem-estar subjectivo e de estados emocionais negativos numa amostra de 41 indivíduos (27 homens e 14 mulheres) portadores de doença mental crónica, com idades compreendidas entre os 18 e 61 anos. Foram, ainda, identificados os principais estilos de coping utilizados por esses indivíduos, bem como um estudo de comparação entre doentes institucionalizados e não-institucionalizados. Foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos: Escala de Satisfação com o Suporte Social, constituída por quatro subescalas (satisfação com amizades, intimidade, satisfação com a família e actividades sociais); Questionário dos Estilos de Coping, formado igualmente por quatro subescalas (Coping Racional, Coping Emocional, Coping Evitante e Coping Distanciado/Desligado); Escala de Satisfação com a Vida e, por último, a Escala de Depressão, Ansiedade e Stress. Os resultados demonstram que o valor global de suporte social e as suas dimensões “satisfação com amizades”, “intimidade”, “satisfação com a família” e “actividades sociais” se correlacionam positivamente, a nível estatisticamente significativo com o bem-estar subjectivo. Relativamente ao estilo de coping racional, verifica-se que este se relaciona negativamente com a sintomatologia depressiva, ao contrário do coping emocional que apresenta uma correlação positiva com os estados emocionais negativos (depressão, ansiedade e stress) e uma relação inversa com o bem-estar. Os doentes institucionalizados, comparativamente aos não-institucionalizados, apresentam o uso mais frequente de coping desadaptativo (emocional) e níveis mais elevados de ansiedade. O suporte social, os estilos de coping e a percepção de bem-estar subjectivo demonstram estar associados de modo teoricamente esperado, mostrando a importância dos factores psicossociais na adaptação à doença mental crónica. / The aims of this study was to verify the influence of social support and coping styles on the perception of subjective well-being and negative emotional states in a sample of 41 subjects (27 men and 14 woman) with chronic mental illness (aged between 18 and 61 years). We also identified the main coping styles used by these subjects, as well as a comparative study of institutionalized patients and non-institutionalized. Instruments used include the Satisfaction with Social Support (with four dimensions: satisfaction with friendships, intimacy, satisfaction with family and social activities); Coping Styles Questionnaire (with four coping dimensions: rational, emotional, avoidant and distance); Scale of Satisfaction with Life and, finnaly, the Scale for Depression, Anxiety and Stress. Results shows that the global social support and its dimensions “satisfaction with friendships”, “intimacy”, “satisfaction with family” and “social activities” have a statistically significant positive correlation with subjective well-being.and It appears that the rational coping styles is negatively related to depressive symptoms, unlike the emotional coping has a positive correlation with negative emotional states (depression, anxiety and stress) and an inverse relationship with well-being. The institutionalized patients, compared to non-institutionalized, have more frequent use of maladaptative coping (emotional) and higher levels of anxiety. Social support, coping styles and perception of subjective well-being are associated according to the theoretical models, showing the role of psychosocial factors in adaptation to chronic mental illness.

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.

O Ensino Superior À Distância De Serviço Social No Brasil Contemporâneo

O ensino superior à distância de serviço social no Brasil na contemporaneidade dialeticamente é influenciado como tudo pelo paradigma norteador global. Está modalidade da educação tem recebido uma atenção especial de muitos outros pesquisadores, pois soma uma imensa quantidade de alunos e causa um grande impacto na sociedade. Na atualidade é necessário verificar este tipo de ensino, nesse grau, nesta profissão, nesse país, pois movimenta em muito a sociedade desta nação. Há opção pelo uso incessante do estudo bibliográfico, absorvendo o conhecimento que já é referência e foi estrategicamente escolhido por ainda ser um tema relativamente novo passível de possíveis vícios na pesquisa empírica. No decorrer do trabalho foi eleita a história como síntese das considerações sobre a temática na atualidade.

The Effect of Psychological Distance on Willingness to Engage in Ideologically Based Violence

Research on the cognitive and decision-making processes of individuals who choose to engage in ideologically based violence is vital. Our research examines how abstract and concrete construal mindsets affect likelihood to engage in ideologically based violence. Construal Level Theory (CLT) states that an abstract mindset (high-level construal), as opposed to a concrete mindset (low-level construal), is associated with a greater likelihood of engaging in goal-oriented, value-motivated behaviors. Assuming that ideologically based violence is goal-oriented, we hypothesized that high-level construal should result in an increased likelihood of engaging in ideologically based violence. In the pilot study we developed and tested 24 vignettes covering controversial topics and assessed them on features such as relatability, emotional impact, and capacity to elicit a violent reaction. The ten most impactful vignettes were selected for use in the primary investigations. The two primary investigations examined the effect of high- and low-level construal manipulations on self-reported likelihood of engaging in ideologically based violence. Self-reported willingness was measured through an ideological violence assessment. Data trends implied that participants were engaged in the study, as they reported a higher willingness to engage in ideologically based violence when they had a higher passion for the vignette's social issue topic. Our results did not indicate a significant relationship between construal manipulations and level of passion for a topic.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF ASIAN ELEPHANTS (ELEPHAS MAXIMUS) IN SRI LANKA

Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) are critically endangered and live in fragmented populations spread across 13 countries. Yet in comparison to the African savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana), relatively little is known about the social structure of wild Asian elephants because the species is mostly found in low visibility habitat. A better understanding of Asian elephant social structure is critical to mitigate human-elephant conflicts that arise due to increasing human encroachments into elephant habitats. In this dissertation, I examined the social structure of Asian elephants at three sites: Yala, Udawalawe, and Minneriya National Parks in Sri Lanka, where the presence of large open areas and high elephant densities are conducive to behavioral observations. First, I found that the size of groups observed at georeferenced locations was affected by forage availability and distance to water, and the effects of these environmental factors on group size depended on site. Second, I discovered that while populations at different sites differed in the prevalence of weak associations among individuals, a core social structure of individuals sharing strong bonds and organized into highly independent clusters was present across sites. Finally, I showed that the core social structure preserved across sites was typically composed of adult females associating with each other and with other age-sex classes. In addition, I showed that females are social at all life stages, whereas males gradually transition from living in a group to a more solitary lifestyle. Taking into consideration these elements of Asian elephant social structure will help conservation biologists develop effective management strategies that account for both human needs and the socio-ecology of the elephants.

Capital social e ações conjuntas: um estudo de caso no arranjo produtivo local de vinhos de altitude catarinense

The general goal of this study was to analyze the relations between the agents’ social capital and joint actions developed by the Cluster of wine produced at the high altitudes of Santa Catarina. This group is made up of 43 agents: one governing agent, 26 support agents and 16 winemakers. This descriptive and exploratory study uses data from qualitative and quantitative approaches. During the exploratory phase, a documental analysis was carried out, as well as semi-structured interviews. The data collection tool used to gather information concerning the social capital and joint actions was the semi-structured questionnaire, and this data gathering was conducted through field research using a structured interview with the selected agents from November 16 to November 26, 2015. The results of this study show a good social capital, which reflects on the joint actions done by the agents. Among the variables of social capital, trust shows a great level among the Cluster agents, followed by good levels concerning commitment and involvement, information share, rules and sanctions, horizontality and authority and improvement. As a result, it has created a nice level of involvement and effectiveness of joint actions, highlighting events organization, joint participation at fairs and events, marketing campaigns, development of products and processes, and human resources improvement. There is a small group of agents who show a strong social capital and a proper environment to expand this capital throughout the network. However, the evaluation concerning reciprocity and density represents only one third of the possibilities of this group, and it happens especially because of the geographical distance between the agents who are part of the Cluster. The main limitation of this study was the trouble trying to map the whole agent group before applying the questionnaires and identifying the responsible people in each of the support agents to inform everything correctly. It is suggested that these questionnaires be carried out with other Clusters as well as in the future in order to have a temporal assessment of this study.