Policing in America has lost more officers to suicides than line of duty deaths over the past four years. As the gatekeepers to the criminal justice system, the well-being of officers is critical as unhealthy police using poor coping strategies to handle their stress can lead to a multitude of negative consequences for the communities they serve, their departments, their fellow officers, and themselves. While the technology of policing is quickly advancing, the routine duties of officers remain stressful. This stress requires officers to use effective coping strategies to deal with it, but the traditional subculture of policing promotes maladaptive, rather than adaptive, coping strategies. To understand how the subculture influences police and the coping strategies they use, research must understand the socialization process of recruits entering the job. The current research seeks to understand how police recruits are socialized into the police subculture and how this affects the coping strategies they use to deal with the stressors they will confront on the job. The research analyzes how the network position of recruits influences their adoption of the police subculture and how this, in turn, affects their development of coping strategies. Recruits were surveyed three times during their academy training to examine the transitioning and socialization that occurs throughout the police academy. Results reveal that networks affect the adoption of the police subculture by recruits and this socialization process impacts the development of coping strategies by recruits. Findings highlight the need for future work to continue the longitudinal research approach to examine how the networks change once recruits complete their field training and probationary period. / Doctor of Philosophy / Police officers are engaged in an occupation that induces a vast amount of stress, leading to burnout and poor coping strategies. Blue H.E.L.P. began tracking the suicide rates of law enforcement and found that officers are dying more often by their own hands than in line of duty deaths. We have also seen growing tensions between police and communities, further leading to lower retention rates of current officers. The current study seeks to understand how police recruits are trained to endure the stress of their occupation. Policing is comprised of a unique occupational culture that creates solidarity among its members, which can influence how officers learn to utilize coping mechanisms. The current research examines how new police recruits fit into this occupational culture and how this affects their coping strategies over time. Results show that how new recruits are socialized into the occupational culture matter in terms of how they learn to cope with their job. Understanding how new recruits are taught to cope is imperative to destigmatize the notion of well-being to train healthier officers and to potentially lower suicide rates among our nation's law enforcement.

Yes / The growing body of published e-government literature highlights the importance of e-government in society and the need to make sense of e-government by academia. In order to understand the future of e-government, it is important to understand the research that has been conducted and highlight the issues and themes that have been identified as important by empirical study. This paper analyses the corpus of e-government research published from 2000 to 2013 using Bibliometric and Social Network Analysis (SNA) methods to develop an intellectual structure of e-government research. Factor analysis, multidimensional scaling and centrality measurement are also applied to the e-government dataset using UCINET to identify the core influential articles in the field. This study identifies three core clusters of e-government research that centre around (i) e-government development models (ii) adoption and acceptance of e-government, and (iii) e-government using social media and highlights areas for future research in the field. Discover the world's research

This case study examined the spread of ideas in a Gr. 5/6 classroom in which the teacher was attempting to foster a knowledge building community. The goal of the research was to explore the relationship between the social network of the classroom (in terms of face-to-face and computer-mediated interactions), the teacher’s role, and the spread of ideas. Further, the thesis examined how social network tools may help teachers better understand the pedagogical implications of Scardamalia and Bereiter’s (1991) Teacher A, B, C models. Analyses of videotaped lessons revealed the teacher used a complex mix of traditional instructional methods and knowledge building strategies while trying to shift the locus of control of learning to students. Critical teacher-driven processes included the class-wide adoption of knowledge building vocabulary and practices, and efforts to foster higher levels of student-student discourse. Analyses of online interactions provided strong evidence of highly interconnected student-student online networks, with the note reading network being especially dense. Longitudinal studies revealed these network established themselves early in the unit, and persisted during the course of the inquiry. There was evidence that idea improvement was present in addition to idea spread. In face-to-face classroom communication, the teacher’s role was more central, particularly in "Knowledge Building Talk" sessions. However, here too, the teacher made efforts to shift the locus of control. Overall the analyses suggest that social network tools are potentially useful for helping teachers make the difficult transition from "Teacher A" and "Teacher B" strategies, in which the locus of control is with the teacher, to "Teacher C" strategies, in which strategic cognitive processes are turned over to students. This dissertation proposes that movement toward Teacher C practices may be illustrated, in part, by a shift in classroom network topologies from that of a star-shaped network, centered on the teacher, to a highly interconnected student-student network. Finally, the thesis recounts a number of ways in which the use of social network tools uncovered discourse patterns of which the teacher was unaware, including gender differences in reading, building-on, and contribution patterns.

The mechanisms and functions of shark grouping behaviour have received relatively little scientific attention to date. The current widespread use of social network analysis to study animal groups, in concert with rapid advances in animal tracking technology, now allows us to test specific hypotheses about how and why sharks form groups. This thesis uses replicated laboratory experiments to investigate some of the mechanisms underpinning aggregation in a model species of benthic, oviporous elasmobranch, the small spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula L. 1758; Scyliorhinidae). Acoustic tracking of this species in the wild is also conducted to explore how network analyses can be adopted to study the localized movements, habitat connectivity and ranging behaviour of adult sharks. Groups of juvenile S. canicula were characterized by non-random social preferences, crucially, only when individuals were familiar with one another suggesting social recognition is important in young sharks of this species. Genetic analyses of parent and offspring DNA revealed very high levels of multiple paternity in this species, likely due to male sexual harassment and multiple mating, which leads to increased genetic diversity between juvenile sharks. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was no evidence of kin relatedness structuring social interactions between conspecifics. Furthermore, testing the effects of environment on social behaviour provided evidence that these juveniles aggregated more in structurally complex environments than simple ones. However, at the individual level sharks showed consistency in their social network positions through time and across different habitat types. This result is indicative of personality traits in S. canicula. Using data gathered via passive acoustic telemetry of wild shark behaviour, network analysis provided a useful tool with which to quantify movement between receivers. One chapter has been dedicated to the application of these methods, highlighting a number of different analyses for predicting movement behaviour from such data. Finally, these methods were adopted to address ecological questions in this sexually segregated species. Persistent site fidelity to a localised inshore area by both male and female sharks suggested that segregation occurred at a relatively small spatial and temporal scale. Despite strong evidence of segregation, analyses of movement networks and individual co-occurrences revealed distinct periods of behavioural synchronicity during the months of March, April and May. In addition, habitat complexity appeared to be a significant driver of female behavioural strategy. Enhancing our knowledge of the social and environmental drivers of aggregation and movement in sharks is of great importance given the ecological threat facing many of our ocean’s top elasmobranch predators.

The sociotechnical system of print-on-paper for the dissemination of textual information prevails despite widespread concerns about its sustainability. On the basis of sociotechnical transitions theory the print-on-paper system is perceived as a regime. Information technology is identified as one of the generic technologies that has the potential to address the unsustainability of the incumbent regime. Its potential effects are examined through the development of the electronic book, which is defined as those IT applications providing an alternative form of textual display to printed paper. Yet, such applications have remained marginal. According to sociotechnical transitions theory the electronic book can be seen as a niche in relation to the print-on-paper regime. An alternative conceptualisation of transitions as a process of network reconfiguration is suggested. On that basis, the electronic book is depicted as a number of emergent innovation networks. Social Network Analysis methods informed by network approaches to innovation theory are applied to visualise and discuss these emergent networks. In one of the representations, the electronic book is mapped as a sociotechnical network including organisations, users and technologies. It emerges that network formation often transgresses a distinct niche-regime divide. Patterns of network interaction are explored and assessed as to whether they represent a sociotechnical transition in progress. The analysis reveals different patterns of network formation which are indicative of prospective sociotechnical trajectories where different concepts of the electronic book are emphasised. It emerges that the discussion of sustainability and the emergence of the electronic book remain largely unlinked.

This thesis tests Robert S. Weiss's 1973 theory of loneliness, which claims two types of loneliness: emotional and social. Emotional loneliness is the affective reaction to the absence of a close attachment bond. Social loneliness stems from inadequate integration into a social network. Undergraduate residents of a university dormitory completed questionnaires on loneliness, attachment, personality, and relationships with other dorm residents. Patterns of relational ties among participants were evaluated using social network analysis, specifically density, tie strength, and four forms of centrality. Results reveal that, while controlling for neuroticism, the network measure of outdegree and the two attachment dimensions accounted for more than half the variance in loneliness, R = .73. None of the three predictors intercorrelated significantly. A portion of loneliness is derived from one's internal attachment security and a separate portion is derived from the external features of one's social network integration.

Master of Public Health / Department of Kinesiology / Katie M. Heinrich / Background and Purpose: Trails can help increase community physical activity levels but little is known about the role that collaborations play in building a trail. Social network analysis may be a useful tool to examine collaborations among various stakeholders, such as municipal public works, parks and recreation, community organizations, hospitals, local businesses, universities, and schools. The purpose of this project is threefold: a) to identify the number and type of organizations involved in trail building, b) to examine the centrality and density of social networks in the trail building process and c) to determine whether collaborations differ between the three phases of trail building (generation, grant funding and construction). Methods: Thirty-four successful trail project builders funded by the Sunflower Foundation of Kansas participated in an online survey designed to explore collaborations throughout the trail building process. Social network analysis adapted from procedures developed by Wickizer and colleagues (1993) was used to identify key organizations in building trails, to estimate the overall density and centrality of connections between the organizations, and to determine differences in collaborations by project phase. Results: Fifteen different groups (e.g. non-profit community organizations, city parks and recreation department, city public works, schools) were identified as part of the trail building process. Non-profit community organizations were most central to trail building during all three phases (generation (.36) grant writing (.38), and construction (.41)). All three phases of trail building were only weakly connected as indicated by density of social network scores measured during the generation (5.7%), grant writing (6.2%) and construction phases (7.5%). Centrality of social networks was high for all three phases of the trail building process, the generation phase (0.32) the grant writing phase (0.27) and the construction phase (0.36). Conclusions: This exploratory analysis suggests Social Network Analysis may be a useful tool to study organizations that collaborate to build trails for physical activity. During the distinct phases of trail-building, the role of collaborations changed. Some organizations were more important in the planning phase, grant writing or construction, while others (e.g. non-profit community organizations) were important throughout the entire process. Additionally, the density of social network increased as the trail projects progressed. The relationships between organizations were often weak but provided a flow of necessary information and skills to successfully build a trail. Future research should attempt to understand these time-dependent collaborations and encourage them in future trail and other built environment projects that support physical activity.

Organisation socialisation is the process by which an individual acquires the attitudes, behaviour, and knowledge she or he needs to participate as an organisation member (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979). During socialisation, organisations seek to mould new employees to fit its needs and employees attempt to define acceptable work roles for themselves within the organisation (Fisher, 1986). Several scholars believe that an important way in which socialisation occurs is through social interactions between newcomers and „insiders‟ or more experienced members of their organisation (Feldman, 1981; Louis, 1990; Reichers, 1987). Relationships might be important, but little is known about the types of relationship patterns that are most conducive to effective socialisation (Morrison, 2002). This research will view the socialisation process from the perspective of social network structure and examine the effect of the relationships on socialisation outcomes.

Thesis advisor: Thomas M. Crea / The ability of school communities to develop successful integration strategies for youth from immigrant communities is of pressing concern. The goal of this dissertation is to explore how immigrant youth interact with their peers in friendship networks and school communities in order to inform efforts to promote the successful integration of immigrant youth in US schools. Data from the 1994-1995 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) are used in three separate studies to examine processes of integration. First, the integration of immigrant youth is analyzed at dyadic, network, and school institution levels. Second, exponential random graph modeling (ERGM) is used to examine how immigrant generation plays a role in friendship formation in 63 US schools. Third, cross-sectional ERGM and longitudinal stochastic actor-based models (SABM) are developed to examine how race, immigrant generation, spoken language, and social network processes give rise to youth friendship networks in one US school. Key findings are as follows: first, youth from immigrant families overall are successfully integrating into school friendship networks and communities. First-generation youth are located only slightly on the margins while second-generation youth are located in positions of social advantage. Second, school contexts change the nature of friendship decision-making. Immigrant youth in more diverse schools are more likely to integrate through cross-group friendships, providing evidence for contact theory of intergroup relations. Third, while immigrant generation and spoken language emerge as salient predictors of friendship formation, other factors such as grade level, race and ethnicity, as well as social network processes remain the primary drivers of friendship formation. In the final chapter, an applied theory of immigrant integration in school settings grounded in theories of social structure is proposed. Together, the findings of this research will inform efforts to better serve culturally and linguistically diverse youth in American schools and aim to help promote the integration of youth from immigrant communities. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Thesis advisor: Stephen P. Borgatti / This study was an investigation of the effects of social identity on career progression and career resilience. Particular attention was given to the predictive impact of social identity of membership in an identifiable professional sub-grouping. Using NCAA basketball coaches as an empirical setting, quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to predict the status of next employer for job seekers who voluntarily changed jobs (n = 282), and the employability resilience of job seekers who were fired (n = 151). Job seekers with the social identity of membership in an identifiable professional sub-grouping (in this empirical setting, defined as membership in a coaching family or coaching tree) were hired for positions with employers of higher status, and exhibited greater employability resilience than was the case for job seekers without such a social identity. Because membership in an identifiable professional sub-grouping signals concise information about the social identity of an individual above and beyond prior performance, network connectivity and status affiliations, it is theorized that individuals with such a social identity are more easily understood, more predictable, and are therefore more valuable in the labor market. Additional career benefits are accrued by individuals who claim their ascribed identity, and by individuals who have social identities characterized as relational actors. Recommendations for future research on social identity of membership in an identifiable professional sub-grouping are offered. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Organization Studies.