Sunbelt XXXI International Network for Social Network ... - INSNA

Spatial Impact On Social Network Diffusion: The Case Of Frame Convention On Tobacco ControlOh, Yoonkyung; Shin, HeesungInnovation, Diffusion, and the Adoption of TechnologyDiffusion, International Networks, GeographyWED.PM1The success of implementing public policy greatly depends on the diffusion of the policy decision and the consequential behavioral changes. In addition to thesocial network characteristics of the volume of communication or the brokerage, various other factors affect the diffusion of policy and behavior. Especially atthe international level, political preferences or socioeconomic status of the nations need to be considered. One of the critical factors is the geographicalcloseness. Since geographical adjacency often explains the similarity in the environmental conditions among the nations, the concepts of the policy might beeasily applied in the adjacent countries. Or, the closeness may increase the volume of communication, which leads the diffusion of policy. This study is toinvestigate the impact of geographical factors on the policy diffusion at international level, with the case of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC).FCTC is the international treaty initiated by World Health organization (WHO) in 2003, to prevent tobacco related death and diseases. FCTC adopting countriesare required to sign and ratify the treaty, followed by encouragement to implement legislative enforcements. By 2009, there were over 164 countries thatratified the treaty. Wipfil, Fujimoto, and Valente (2010) found that demographic (higher income and more related NGOs), and social network variables areassociated with the adoption status of FCTC. While Wipfil et al. considered the reverse distance between Country capitals as geographical variables, our studyexpands the model by examining the spatial factors, using Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR), a spatially calibrated regression model embedded inArcGIS 9.3. The necessary network variables are calculated with UCINET. By introducing the GWR model in examining social network diffusion, this study maycontribute more concrete approach to measure the spatial variables.Specification And Estimation Of A Relational Event Model For Two‐mode Networks With An Application To Organizational Problem SolvingTonellato, Marco; Conaldi, Guido; Lomi, Alessandro ; Quintane, EricEvent‐based networksTwo‐mode Networks, Relational Events, Open Source, Social MechanismsFRI.AM2We specify and estimate a relational event model for two‐mode networks using data that we collected on problem‐solving activities within a community ofFree/Open Source Software (F/OSS) developers. Data pertain to a team that included a total of 904 volunteer developers involved at different times in theproduction of a F/OSS web browser. We reconstructed the two‐mode network generated by problem‐solving activities undertaken by the software developerson identified software problems (or “bugs”). Each network tie records a voluntary action taken by a developer to engage a specific problem observed duringone of the release cycles undergone by the software. The relational event model enables us to examine across different time frames the regularities in actionsequences collectively undertaken by developers. Here, the model uses past action sequences towards a given problem to predict its resolution. We discussthe possible implications of our preliminary results for views of organizations as structured social settings that encourage the interaction between problems,solutions and decision makers. By doing so, we aim to provide further insights into the social micro‐mechanisms that lead to the endogenous emergence ofroutinized collective action.