scholarly journals In-class social networks and academic performance: how good connections can improve grades

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Gomes Jr.

Understanding how different variables affect student performance is an important requirement for improving educational practices. Since humans are highly social beings, social factors should play a significant role in the academic context. This paper analyzes the impact on academic performance of social indicators such as students friendship circle and in-class clustering. The analysis is based on data from six different classes of the topic Databases taken by students of computing-related majors. We assessed students’ friendship circle in terms of density (sociability) and also quality (grades) of their friends. The paper shows results with strong, statistically relevant relationships between the social factors and student performance. Among other results, the analysis indicates that (i) students with higher social capital tend to perform better, and (ii) students with friends with higher grades have better chances of recovering from a low exam grade.

Author(s):  
Jethro Oludare OLOJO

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of social network usage on science students’ academic achievements in Ondo State’s senior secondary schools. The study was also to find the extent to which students under investigation used the social network platforms and the frequencies of their visits. In order to achieve this, a structured questionnaire was designed and administered to students from the three senatorial districts that made up the state. A multistage; which involved simple random and purposive sampling approaches was used to select the sample for the study. 150 copies of the questionnaire were distributed; out of which, 148 (98.78%) copies were returned. For the study, four research questions and two research hypotheses were developed. The hypotheses were assessed using the student's - t statistic at 0.05 significant level; using SPSS version 20 while the research questions formulated were evaluated using frequency counts and percentages. The study revealed that Ondo State senior secondary school science students can efficiently use the social network platforms for academic activities with male students being more proficient than their female counterparts. The study also revealed that the usage of social networks has assisted students to improve their academic performance; irrespective of their classes. Besides, the study showed that Facebook was the most popular of all the social network platforms. To this end, the researcher recommended that teachers, parents, and guidance should monitor the activities of their wards on the social network sites so that they can use the platforms to benefit their lots. Teachers should also use the advantage of students’ exposure to social networking to change their teaching methods from traditional one to online teaching.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3589
Author(s):  
Akbar Rahimi ◽  
Mahsa Tarashkar ◽  
Banafshe Jahantab

Social capital is the effective contribution of social groups through providing a context for cooperation, sense of identity, and perception of social norms. Urban parks are important components of cities, helps building the social capital within urban societies. This study examines the social capital of important urban parks of Tehran, Iran, using three main criteria: informal social control, social cohesion, and social leverage. A stratified random sample of 330 users were selected and asked to rank the social capital criteria using a questionnaire involving five-point Likert scale questions. The results show mutual relationship between informal social control and social leverage (r = 0.62, α = 0.00), and also inter-relationship between design indicators and perceived social capital. People from lower age group and higher educational level show highest perception of social capital. Perceptual difference were observed between genders. Women experience higher esthetic perception (α = 0.00), security (α = 0.01), and accessibility (α = 0.03). The study, while proving the relationship between social indicators and design features, and the impact of personal characteristics on the perception of social capital, indicates social inequality in citizens’ equal benefit of social capital. Measures must be taken to increase social capital in society and solve the significant lower perceptions of some social capital indicators among specific groups.


REFORMASI ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-44
Author(s):  
Vidya Yanti Utami

Penelitian ini dilatari konteks ekonomi yang terjadi pada masyarakat Desa Setanggor di Kabupaten Lombok Tengah. Hasil panen yang biasa mengalami penurunan tiap kali terjadi musim kemarau karena sawah-sawah tidak bisa ditanami menyebabkan sebagian besar penduduk laki-laki yang memiliki mata pencaharian sebagai petani hanya menganggur. Melihat potensi besar yang dimiliki oleh Desa Setanggor, Ida Wahyuni seorang anggota masyarakat Desa Setanggor, mempelopori dengan memanfaatkan modal sosial yang ada pada masyarakat Desa Setanggor. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui dinamika modal sosial dalam pemberdayaan masyarakat dan dampak yang dirasakan bagi masyarakat Desa Setanggor. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif dengan pendekatan studi kasus. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa modal sosial yang kuat yang dimiliki oleh masyarakat Desa Setanggor mampu mengatasi permasalahan yang terjadi. Berhasilnya pemberdayaan yang terjadi di Desa Setanggor menciptakan aktivitas ekonomi baru yang dikemas menjadi Desa Wisata Halal. Keberhasilan Setanggor dalam memberdayakan masyarakatnya, melalui sejumlah dinamika modal sosial. Modal sosial yang ditemui tersebut berupa kepercayaan, jaringan sosial dan norma. This research is motivated by economic problems that occur in community of Setanggor Village, Central Lombok Regency. Yields that are usually reduced during the dry season because the fields cannot be planted, so that most of the male population who have a livelihood as farmers are just unemployed. Seeing the great potential possessed by Setanggor Village, Ida Wahyuni as a Setanggor Village community pioneered by utilizing the existing social capital in the Setanggor Village community. This study aims to determine the dynamics of social capital in community empowerment and the impact for the community of Setanggor Village. The results showed that the social capital owned by the community of Setanggor Village was able to solve the problems that occurred. The successful empowerment that occurred in Setanggor Village created a new economic activity that was packaged into a Halal Tourism Village. The success of Setanggor Village in empowering the community, through some dynamics of social capital. The found social capital in the form of trust, social networks and norms.


Author(s):  
Sloane Speakman

In examining the strikingly high prevalence rates of HIV in many parts of Africa, reaching as high as 5% in some areas, how does the discourse promoted by the predominant religions across the continent, Islam and Christianity, affect the outlook of their followers on the epidemic? This question becomes even more intriguing after discovering the dramatic difference in rate of HIV prevalence between Muslims and Christians in Africa, confirmed by studies that have found a negative relationship to exist between HIV prevalence and being Muslim in Africa, even in Sub-Saharan African nations. Why does this gap in prevalence rates exist? Does Islam advocate participating in less risky behavior more so than Christianity? By comparing the social construction, epidemiological understanding and public responses among Muslim populations in Africa with Christian ones, it becomes apparent that many similarities exist between the two regarding discourse and that, rather than religious discourse itself, other social factors, such as circumcision practices, contribute more to the disparity in HIV prevalence than originally thought.


Author(s):  
Caitlin Vitosky Clarke ◽  
Brynn C Adamson

This paper offers new insights into the promotion of the Exercise is Medicine (EIM) framework for mental illness and chronic disease. Utilising the Syndemics Framework, which posits mental health conditions as corollaries of social conditions, we argue that medicalized exercise promotion paradigms both ignore the social conditions that can contribute to mental illness and can contribute to mental illness via discrimination and worsening self-concept based on disability. We first address the ways in which the current EIM framework may be too narrow in scope in considering the impact of social factors as determinants of health. We then consider how this narrow scope in combination with the emphasis on independence and individual prescriptions may serve to reinforce stigma and shame associated with both chronic disease and mental illness. We draw on examples from two distinct research projects, one on exercise interventions for depression and one on exercise interventions for multiple sclerosis (MS), in order to consider ways to improve the approach to exercise promotion for these and other, related populations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Abdulelah A. Alghamdi ◽  
Margaret Plunkett

With the increased use of Social Networking Sites and Apps (SNSAs) in Saudi Arabia, it is important to consider the impact of this on the social lives of tertiary students, who are heavy users of such technology. A mixed methods study exploring the effect of SNSAs use on the social capital of Saudi postgraduate students was conducted using a multidimensional construct of social capital, which included the components of life satisfaction, social trust, civic participation, and political engagement. Data were collected through surveys and interviews involving 313 male and 293 female postgraduate students from Umm Al-Qura University (UQU) in Makkah. Findings show that male and female participants perceived SNSAs use impacting all components of social capital at a moderate and mainly positive level. Correlational analysis demonstrated medium to large positive correlations among components of social capital. Gender differences were not evident in the life satisfaction and social trust components; however, females reported more involvement with SNSAs for the purposes of political engagement while males reported more use for civic participation, which is an interesting finding, in light of the norms and traditional culture of Saudi society.


Comunicar ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (41) ◽  
pp. 61-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristóbal Casanueva-Rocha ◽  
Francisco-Javier Caro-González

At a time when academic activity in the area of communication is principally assessed by the impact of scientific journals, the scientific media and the scientific productivity of researchers, the question arises as to whether social factors condition scientific activity as much as these objective elements. This investigation analyzes the influence of scientific productivity and social activity in the area of communication. We identify a social network of researchers from a compilation of doctoral theses in communication and calculate the scientific production of 180 of the most active researchers who sit on doctoral committees. Social network analysis is then used to study the relations that are formed on these doctoral thesis committees. The results suggest that social factors, rather than individual scientific productivity, positively influence such a key academic and scientific activity as the award of doctoral degrees. Our conclusions point to a disconnection between scientific productivity and the international scope of researchers and their role in the social network. Nevertheless, the consequences of this situation are tempered by the nonhierarchical structure of relations between communication scientists. En un momento en que la actividad académica en el ámbito de la comunicación se valora principalmente por el impacto de las revistas y los medios de comunicación científica y por la productividad de los investigadores, surge la cuestión de si los factores sociales pueden condicionar la actividad científica con la misma fuerza que estos elementos objetivos. Esta investigación analiza la influencia de la productividad científica y de la actividad social en el ámbito de la comunicación. Se ha identificado la red social de los investigadores de comunicación a partir de las tesis doctorales. Para los 180 investigadores más activos en los tribunales de tesis se ha calculado su producción científica. Se utiliza el análisis de redes sociales para estudiar las relaciones que se producen en los tribunales de tesis doctorales. Los resultados muestran que los factores sociales influyen positivamente en una actividad académica y científica tan relevante como la obtención del grado de doctor, mientras que la productividad científica individual no lo hace. Como conclusiones cabe señalar que existe una desconexión entre la productividad científica y la proyección internacional de los investigadores y su papel en la red social. Las implicaciones de este hecho están matizadas por una estructura no jerarquizada de las relaciones entre los científicos de comunicación.


2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 184-196
Author(s):  
Maja Dorota Wojciechowska

PurposeSocial capital, understood as intangible community values available through a network of connections, is a factor in the development of societies and improving quality of life. It helps to remove economic inequalities and prevent poverty and social exclusion, stimulate social and regional development, civic attitudes and social engagement and build a civic society as well as local and regional identity. Many of these tasks may be implemented by libraries, which, apart from providing access to information, may also offer a number of services associated with social needs. The purpose of this paper is to present the roles and functions that libraries may serve in local communities in terms of assistance, integration and development based on classical social capital theories.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the classical concepts of social capital in the context of libraries. It analyses the findings of Pierre-Félix Bourdieu, James Coleman, Francis Fukuyama, Robert Putnam, Nan Lin, Ronald Stuart Burt, Wayne Baker and Alejandro Portes. Based on their respective concepts, the paper analyses the role of the contemporary library in the social life of local communities. In particular, it focuses on the possible new functions that public libraries may serve.FindingsA critical review of the concept of social capital revealed certain dependencies between libraries and their neighbourhoods. With new services that respond to the actual social needs, libraries may serve as a keystone, namely they may integrate, animate and engage local communities. This, however, requires a certain approach to be adopted by the personnel and governing authorities as well as infrastructure and tangible resources.Originality/valueThe social engagement of libraries is usually described from the practical perspective (reports on the services provided) or in the context of research on the impact of respective projects on specific groups of users (research reports). A broader approach, based on original social theories, is rarely encountered. The paper draws on classical concepts of social capital and is a contribution to the discussion on possible uses of those concepts based on an analysis of the role of libraries in social life and in strengthening the social capital of local communities.


2020 ◽  
pp. 79-85
Author(s):  
Vladyslav O. Studenets

The arguments and counterarguments in the boundaries of scientific discussion on monitoring the motivational mechanism of securing the labor activity efficiency are generalized. It is related to the fact that the most essential transformations are seen in the social and labor spheres in conditions of market development. The paper aims to define the social factors in the efficiency of labor activity of workers. Systematization of literature sources and approaches to solving the problem of studying the social factors of labor efficiency leads to the conclusion that Ukrainian and foreign scientists have studied the effectiveness of labor activity and the impact of social factors on its increase, but in modern conditions, there is a need for critical analysis at enterprises of various types of economic activity in Ukraine. The study of this issue was carried out in the following logical sequence: determination of results, formation of the main tasks, directions of research of labor remuneration and its structure, determination of tendencies of ensuring the labor activity efficiency. The methodological tools of the study include the system of economic laws, concepts, and categories, the fundamental provisions of modern economic theory and applied economics, statistics. The general methodological basis of the research consists of an abstract-logical complex approach and methods of statistical analysis. The indicators of labor remuneration, the minimum wages, and structures of the wage fund constitute the object of the research because they are the social factors to ensure the efficiency of labor activity. The article examines the indicators of wages, their structure, as well as the impact on ensuring the efficiency of employees. The regional peculiarities in the structure of remuneration are studied and the specific weight of the additional remuneration fund is ranked. The directions of increasing the efficiency of labor activity by strengthening the influence of social factors are offered.


Ethnohistory ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-268
Author(s):  
Morgan Ritchie ◽  
Bruce Granville Miller

Abstract During the socially transformative mid-nineteenth century in the Salish Sea region of the Northwest Coast, a number of influential leaders emerged within Indigenous tribal groups. They played a significant role in reshaping the social geography of the region, blending emergent religious, commercial, and military bases for authority with more conventional Coast Salish strategies of patronage and generosity. The authors examine the lives and social connections of three Coast Salish leaders to illustrate how they were able to establish and maintain social networks across the region for their advantage and for the advantage of followers who had gravitated to them from surrounding shattered communities.


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