scholarly journals Usefulness of Network Analysis to Characterize Technology Leaders in Small Dual-Purpose Cattle Farms in Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 2291
Author(s):  
Oriana Villarroel-Molina ◽  
Carmen De-Pablos-Heredero ◽  
Jaime Rangel ◽  
María Prosperina Vitale ◽  
Antón García

The low technology adoption rate is one of the major problems in very small dual-purpose cattle farms in Mexico. Using the social network analysis approach, we characterized the farmer leaders in the innovation network and deepened the knowledge on the low technological adoption causes. The sample consisted of 383 very small farms of dual-purpose cattle characterized by using nine reproductive management technologies. Our findings suggested that the network position of farmers had a significant impact on the technological level. Hence, the farmers farthest from the technology leaders showed the lowest levels of betweenness centrality index and high rates of constraint. Apart from this, advice, productive orientation, and intensification were also differentiating elements at the technological level. The findings provided relevant insights and useful tools to policy makers to better support, coordinate and enhance the adoption of innovation among smallholders.

Author(s):  
Cecilio Barba Capote ◽  
Antón Rafael García Martínez ◽  
Jaime Rangel ◽  
Oriana Villarroel-Molina

During the last decade, the interest in social network analysis (SNA) has grown considerably. Although the utilization of social network analysis to study smallholder innovation systems is still very limited, the aim of this paper is to review research themes concerning the application of SNA in livestock systems and related areas, from the focus of the dissemination of innovation and knowledge, to build a conceptual framework and benchmark to study livestock systems in tropical areas. The findings of this review suggesting that the methodology of social networks is an important tool to know the patterns of adoption and dissemination of technological innovation in the smallholders of dual-purpose cattle (DP). The importance of developing technological adoption patterns of each farmer through two-mode matrix is highlighted.


Author(s):  
Juan González-Maldonado ◽  
Miguel J. García-Winder ◽  
Jaime Gallegos-Sánchez ◽  
Camelia A. Herrera-Corredor ◽  
Gustavo Sosa-Pérez ◽  
...  

Objective: To share technical aspects and recommendations to improve the reproductive and productive efficiency of dual-purpose cattle. Design/Methodology/Approach: A review of scientific articles published in journals was carried out to show the importance of some factors that limit reproduction, as well as to identify management strategies to increase the reproductive potential in dual-purpose cows. Results: The duration of postpartum anestrus is reduced by weaning calves at a few days or weeks of age, restricting suckling to short periods of the day, delaying suckling, and exposing cows to a bull during postpartum. On average, the combined effect of delayed suckling and exposure of cows to a bull reduces postpartum anestrus to less than 50 d and the calving-conception interval to 84 days. Milk production and calf weight gain also are improved without affecting postpartum weight changes in cows. Study Limitations/Implications: Extensive management of dual-purpose cattle reduces the intensive use of some reproductive biotechnologies commonly applied in other animal production systems. Findings/Conclusions: Improvement in the reproductive efficiency of dual-purpose cattle can be achieved by reducing the postpartum anestrus by using reproductive management strategies and minor modifications to common management practices.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orestis Zavlis ◽  
Myles Jones

Substantial overlap exists between schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders, with part of that overlap hypothesised to be due to comorbid social anxiety. The current paper investigates the interactions and factor structure of these disorders at a personality trait level, through the lens of a network model. The items of the Autism Quotient (AQ), Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire Brief-Revised (SPQ-BR), and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (L-SAS) were combined and completed by 345 members of the general adult population. An Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) on the AQ-SPQ-BR combined inventory revealed two communities (factors), which reflected the general autism and schizotypal phenotypes. An additional EGA on all inventories validated the AQ-SPQ-BR factor structure and revealed another community, Social Anxiety (L-SAS). A Network Analysis (NA) on all inventories revealed several moderately central subscales, which collectively reflected the social-interpersonal impairments of the three disorders. The current results suggest that a combination of recent network- and traditional factor-analytic techniques may present a fruitful approach to understanding the underlying structure as well as relation of different psychopathologies.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel ◽  
Elizabeth Ann Harris ◽  
Philip Pärnamets ◽  
Steve Rathje ◽  
Kimberly Doell ◽  
...  

The spread of misinformation, including “fake news,” propaganda, and conspiracy theories, represents a serious threat to society, as it has the potential to alter beliefs, behavior, and policy. Research is beginning to disentangle how and why misinformation is spread and identify processes that contribute to this social problem. We propose an integrative model to understand the social, political, and cognitive psychology risk factors that underlie the spread of misinformation and highlight strategies that might be effective in mitigating this problem. However, the spread of misinformation is a rapidly growing and evolving problem; thus scholars need to identify and test novel solutions, and work with policy makers to evaluate and deploy these solutions. Hence, we provide a roadmap for future research to identify where scholars should invest their energy in order to have the greatest overall impact.


Author(s):  
Ralph Henham

This chapter sets out the case for adopting a normative approach to conceptualizing the social reality of sentencing. It argues that policy-makers need to comprehend how sentencing is implicated in realizing state values and take greater account of the social forces that diminish the moral credibility of state sponsored punishment. The chapter reflects on the problems of relating social values to legal processes such as sentencing and argues that crude notions of ‘top down’ or ‘bottom up’ approaches to policy-making should be replaced by a process of contextualized policy-making. Finally, the chapter stresses the need for sentencing policy to reflect those moral attachments that bind citizens together in a relational or communitarian sense. It concludes by exploring these assertions in the light of the sentencing approach taken by the courts following the English riots of 2011.


Author(s):  
Sophie Mützel ◽  
Ronald Breiger

This chapter focuses on the general principle of duality, which was originally introduced by Simmel as the intersection of social circles. In a seminal article, Breiger formalized Simmel’s idea, showing how two-mode types of network data can be transformed into one-mode networks. This formal translation proved to be fundamental for social network analysis, which no longer needed data on who interacted with whom but could work with other types of data. In turn, it also proved fundamental for the analysis of how the social is structured in general, as many relations are dual (e.g. persons and groups, authors and articles, organizations and practices), and are thus susceptible to an analysis according to duality principles. The chapter locates the concept of duality within past and present sociology. It also discusses the use of duality in the analysis of culture as well as in affiliation networks. It closes with recent developments and future directions.


Social networks fundamentally shape our lives. Networks channel the ways that information, emotions, and diseases flow through populations. Networks reflect differences in power and status in settings ranging from small peer groups to international relations across the globe. Network tools even provide insights into the ways that concepts, ideas and other socially generated contents shape culture and meaning. As such, the rich and diverse field of social network analysis has emerged as a central tool across the social sciences. This Handbook provides an overview of the theory, methods, and substantive contributions of this field. The thirty-three chapters move through the basics of social network analysis aimed at those seeking an introduction to advanced and novel approaches to modeling social networks statistically. The Handbook includes chapters on data collection and visualization, theoretical innovations, links between networks and computational social science, and how social network analysis has contributed substantively across numerous fields. As networks are everywhere in social life, the field is inherently interdisciplinary and this Handbook includes contributions from leading scholars in sociology, archaeology, economics, statistics, and information science among others.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Lisa Scullion ◽  
Katy Jones ◽  
Peter Dwyer ◽  
Celia Hynes ◽  
Philip Martin

There has been an increasing focus in the UK on the support provided to the Armed Forces community, with the publication of the Armed Forces Covenant (2011), the Strategy for our Veterans (2018) and the first ever Office for Veterans’ Affairs (2019). There is also an important body of research – including longitudinal research – focusing on transitions from military to civilian life, much of which is quantitative. At the same time, the UK has witnessed a period of unprecedented welfare reform. However, research focused on veterans’ interactions with the social security system has been largely absent. This article draws on the authors’ experiences of undertaking qualitative longitudinal research (QLR) to address this knowledge gap. We reflect on how QLR was essential in engaging policy makers enabling the research to bridge the two parallel policy worlds of veterans’ support and welfare reform, leading to significant policy and practice impact.


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