Chapter 11 - Social network inference in videos

This paper explores the concept of group belongingness and investigates the formation, maintenance, and influencing factors of social identity and group membership. Drawing upon social identity theory, the paper examines the processes involved in the formation of social identity, including social categorization, social identification, and social comparison. It also explores the various factors that influence the formation of social identity, such as personal characteristics, group characteristics, and the social context. Additionally, the paper discusses the importance of maintaining social identity and group membership, as well as the challenges and barriers to this maintenance. Furthermore, it examines the individual, group, and societal factors that influence social identity and group membership. The paper also delves into the different research methods used to investigate social identity and group membership, including quantitative and qualitative approaches. Finally, the implications and applications of understanding group belongingness are discussed, along with future research directions. The findings highlight the significance of fostering group belongingness for individuals and society as a whole.

Social groups barely change the speed-density relationship in unidirectional pedestrian flow, but affect operational behaviours

Background University students' substance abuse and risky sex contribute to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Purpose We develop and empirically test a formative theoretical model of sexual temptation involving substance abuse (cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana), safe sexual behavior (use of condom/barrier for oral and vaginal intercourse), risky sexual behavior (unprotected sex and multiple sexual partners), and STDs: gonorrhea, HIV, and genital herpes. We simultaneously explore these constructs, controlling membership in social groups (fraternity/sorority, varsity athlete, and club sports) and perceived norm of substance abuse. Methods A total of 687 American university students completed the National College Health Assessment (NCHA). We use structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the goodness of fit between our formative theoretical model and actual data. Results Results reveal the following discoveries: membership in campus social groups is positively associated with STDs, whereas perceived norm of peer substance abuse is negatively related to STDs. Under the influence of substance abuse, we test three outcomes of sexual temptation as related to STDs. Those who have no sex do not contract STDs. For those who fall into temptation and have sex, substance abuse is more strongly related to risky sex which leads to STDs than safe sex which does not. Those engaging in risky sex have significantly higher cognitive impairment than those practicing safe sex. Conclusions Substance abuse contributes to STDs through risky sex only. Those having risky sex suffer higher cognitive impairment than those practicing safe sex. We provide novel implications to policy makers, practitioners, and researchers.

Introduction. Diagnostics of social identification strategies in social groups of various types has not lost its relevance for many decades. In modern conditions, the discussion and development of the methodology and methods of applied diagnostics of identification strategies in small and large social groups receives a new direction of development, thanks to the development of the theory and practice of network methods. This is due to the fact that two multidirectional processes are simultaneously developing in a network society: on the one hand, globalization, which integrates the values of people of various social entities, and, on the other hand, differentiation, dividing the society into many social groups –-social networks, striving to preserve their values and differences. Under these conditions, network diagnosis of identification strategies has several advantages.Methodology and sources. The research methodology for network diagnostics of identification strategies in social groups is formed from a combination of theoretical principles and methodological procedures that combine the advantages of a number of sociological theories: firstly, theories that consider social groups as an object of direct research; secondly, theories, which show the role and importance of identification strategies that influence the success of social identification; thirdly, theories that show the methodological principles and approaches to the formation of technologies for network diagnostics of identification strategies.Results and discussion. Network diagnostics of identification strategies is built as a set of principles and research technologies aimed at collecting and analyzing information about the goals, means and results of mastering patterns of behavior and imitation by members of social groups. Its object is the social mechanism for determining the direction and use of means of mastering standards, assigning these standards and forming behaviors that integrate and include the individual in social groups, achieving on this basis a unifyingcommon, allowing to correlate, compare and unite with groups - to achieve identity. Network diagnostics, formed on the basis of the study of values, involves the study of identification strategies as a process that can be organized in different ways. In the most general sense, these strategies are formed as conscious or unconscious standards, goals and actions leading to the result – identification. Identification strategies in a social group may differ in direction with identification strategies that are proclaimed by organizations within which, for example, small groups appear. These strategies may also differ in the goals and benchmarks of large social groups.Conclusion. There are discusses the theoretical foundations of constructing network diagnostics of identification strategies in the paper, also it contents the empirical experience of using such a technique. A modern networked society is formed as countless small groups arising on a common basis. Network identification diagnostics has several advantages of studying the standards of unity, which allows a purposeful and planned study of the success of identification in social groups.

Purpose – Are members of socially dominant groups aware of the privileges they enjoy? We address this question by applying the notion of hypocognition to social privilege. Hypocognition is defined as lacking a rich cognitive or linguistic representation (i.e., a schema) of a concept in question. By social privilege, we refer to advantages that members of dominant social groups enjoy because of their group membership. We argue that such group members are hypocognitive of the privilege they enjoy. They have little cognitive representation of it. As a consequence, their social advantage is invisible to them. Approach – We provide a narrative review of recent empirical work demonstrating and explaining this lack of expertise and knowledge in socially dominant groups (e.g., White People, men) about discrimination and disadvantage encountered by other groups (e.g., Black People, Asian Americans, women), relative what members of those other groups know. Findings – This lack of expertise or knowledge is revealed by classic cognitive psychological measures. Relative to members of other groups, social dominant group members generate fewer examples of discrimination that other groups confront, remember fewer instances after being presented a list of them, and are slower to respond when classifying whether these examples are discriminatory. Social Implications – These classic measures of cognitive expertise about social privilege predict social attitude differences between social groups, specifically whether people perceive the existence of social privilege as well as believe discrimination still exists in contemporary society. Hypocognition of social privilege also carries implications for informal interventions (e.g., acting “colorblind”) that are popularly discussed.

In spite of the omission of sexual orientation as a ground for persecution under the 1951 Refugee Convention, there is now widespread acceptance of sexuality based claims in most western countries. UNHCR has continued to develop policy and guidance to promote a rights based approach in protecting same-sex oriented refugees. In its most recent guidelines on claims to refugee status based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, UNHCR recognizes that the convention grounds of religion, political opinion, and membership of a particular social group may be relevant in deciding claims based on sexual orientation. However, of these convention grounds, membership of a particular social group has emerged as the most utilized ground in dealing with same-sex oriented refugees. Nonetheless, there is no uniform definition of what constitutes a particular social group, as countries such as the USA and Australia have reached different definitions. It is partly against this backdrop that this article considers the Convention grounds of religion and political opinion for assessing refugee cases based on sexual orientation, to determine whether they might be helpful and may have a crucial role to play in the assessment of such cases.

Although the intestinal flora of chimpanzees has not been studied, insight into this dynamic environment can be obtained through studies on their feces. We analyzed fecal samples from human-habituated, wild chimpanzees at Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania, and compared microbial community profiles to determine if members of the same social group were similar. Between July and December 2007, we collected fresh fecal samples from 12 individuals: four juveniles, four adolescents, and four adults, including three parent-offspring pairs. Each sample was analyzed using Terminal-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism of amplified 16S rRNA genes. Twelve different profiles were generated, having between 1 and 15 Terminal-Restriction Fragments (T-RFs). Overall, a total of 23 different T-RFs were produced. Putative assignments of T-RFs corresponded to the phyla Firmicutes (Clostridia, Bacilli, and Lactobacilli), Bacteroidetes, Tenericutes (Mollicutes Class), Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria, as well as to uncultured or unidentified organisms. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla and Mollicutes Class were the most commonly assigned in 11, 8, and 8 of the samples, respectively, with this being the first report of Mollicutes in wild chimpanzees. Principal Components Analysis (PCA) revealed clustering of nine samples, and 80.5% of the diversity was accounted for by three samples. Morisita indices of community similarity ranged between 0.00 and 0.89, with dissimiliarity (<0.5) between most samples when compared two at a time. Our findings suggest that, although phylotypes are common among individuals, profiles among members of the same social group are host-specific. We conclude that factors other than social group, such as kinship and age, may influence fecal bacterial profiles of wild chimpanzees, and recommend that additional studies be conducted.

Pandemic racism - and the nursing response.

Agricultural innovation has tremendous potentials to improve the welfare of the rural poor. Yet, many new technologies that seem profitable in demonstration plots are not widely adopted due to inadequate social groups linking the farmers to the researchers which result to non-effective information dissemination. There is no adequate link between the farmers and the social groups which are very pivotal to the adoption of innovation and its eventual usage. This study therefore looked at social network and innovation dissemination among farmers in Kwara state Nigeria. This research specifically examined the impact of social network among the farmers in the study area and estimated the correlation of individual farmer’s choices and social network behaviour. A two-stage approach was used in data selection; the first stage was purposive and second involved the random selection technique to collect data from 125 respondents in the study area. Descriptive statistic, Social Network Analysis (SNA), and Qap correlation were the tools employed. The result of the analysis showed that farmers who are members of social group adopt innovation faster. The p-value at 5% signified that there is no correlation between the farmer choice behaviour and social network behaviour. This implies that farmer tend to behave differently under different conditions as regards their choice of innovation adoption., However, when farmers are members of a social group, their decision tend to be different from when they were not and thus, there is a need for adequate information link between researchers and the farmers. Female farmers should be encouraged to join social group as measure to enhance innovation adoption. Keywords: Social Network Analysis (SNA), Qap Correlation and Innovation

Self-concept is the basis for many cognitive and behavioural processes, such as the processing of self-related information (e.g. one's own face, one's own name) and the categorisation of people into various social groups (e.g. self vs. other, family vs. non-family). Previous research suggests that one's self-concept is not only construed from individual characteristics but also from one's social experiences and group memberships. Thus, important life experiences such as childbirth and becoming a parent have significant impacts on one's self-concept and subsequently influence the categorisation of information regarding the self and others. In two experiments, women who gave birth within the last 2 years were recruited and tested on a series of categorisation tasks using names (Experiment 1) or faces (Experiment 2) as stimuli. Results consistently revealed faster reaction times in response to the self regardless of stimulus type (name or face) and response category (self vs. other, family vs. non-family, familiar vs. non-familiar). A family bias for one's own baby name and one's own mother name over friend was observed in the family versus non-family but not in the familiar versus non-familiar categorisation tasks. These findings indicate that information regarding the self and one's family members receives preferential processing in social categorisation. These findings contribute to current understandings of the evolving self-concept through social experiences and its influence on group membership categorisations and response behaviour.

Prosocial Behavior and Empathy

Social relationships have profound effects on health in humans and other primates, but the mechanisms that explain this relationship are not well understood. Using shotgun metagenomic data from wild baboons, we found that social group membership and social network relationships predicted both the taxonomic structure of the gut microbiome and the structure of genes encoded by gut microbial species. Rates of interaction directly explained variation in the gut microbiome, even after controlling for diet, kinship, and shared environments. They therefore strongly implicate direct physical contact among social partners in the transmission of gut microbial species. We identified 51 socially structured taxa, which were significantly enriched for anaerobic and non-spore-forming lifestyles. Our results argue that social interactions are an important determinant of gut microbiome composition in natural animal populations—a relationship with important ramifications for understanding how social relationships influence health, as well as the evolution of group living.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05224.001

PLBP: An effective local binary patterns texture descriptor with pyramid representation

Biometrics is the study of methods of recognizing humans based on their behavioral and physical characteristics or traits. Face recognition is one of the biometric modalities that received a great amount of attention from many researchers during the past few decades because of its potential applications in a variety of security domains. Face recognition however is not only concerned with recognizing human faces, but also with recognizing faces of non-biological entities or avatars. Fortunately, the need for secure and affordable virtual worlds is attracting the attention of many researchers who seek to find fast, automatic and reliable ways to identify virtual worlds’ avatars. In this work, I propose new techniques for recognizing avatar faces, which also can be applied to recognize human faces. Proposed methods are based mainly on a well-known and efficient local texture descriptor, Local Binary Pattern (LBP). I am applying different versions of LBP such as: Hierarchical Multi-scale Local Binary Patterns and Adaptive Local Binary Pattern with Directional Statistical Features in the wavelet space and discuss the effect of this application on the performance of each LBP version. In addition, I use a new version of LBP called Local Difference Pattern (LDP) with other well-known descriptors and classifiers to differentiate between human and avatar face images. The original LBP achieves high recognition rate if the tested images are pure but its performance gets worse if these images are corrupted by noise. To deal with this problem I propose a new definition to the original LBP in which the LBP descriptor will not threshold all the neighborhood pixel based on the central pixel value. A weight for each pixel in the neighborhood will be computed, a new value for each pixel will be calculated and then using simple statistical operations will be used to compute the new threshold, which will change automatically, based on the pixel’s values. This threshold can be applied with the original LBP or any other version of LBP and can be extended to work with Local Ternary Pattern (LTP) or any version of LTP to produce different versions of LTP for recognizing noisy avatar and human faces images.

This article explores the settling and unsettling of legal concepts in relation to refugee-status determination. To gain admission to the United States, asylum seekers are required to demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of one of five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. Accordingly, many political asylum claims turn on the interpretation of “particular social group.” This article examines case law disputes in the federal courts of appeals over the meaning of that phrase and describes how statutory interpretation by judges has contributed to the persistence of such disputes over several decades since the passage of the 1980 Refugee Act. My analysis reveals the tensions between different forms of rationality at play in judicial statutory interpretation and applies the concept of legal settling to a new empirical domain.