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Social Network Analysis has been used effectively in program evaluation (Eisenberg & Swanson, 1996; Fujimoto, Valente & Pentz, 2009), information management and innovations diffusion (Valente, 1995; Kraatz, 1998; Ahuja, 2000), the study of the evolution of community coalitions (Feinberg, Riggs & Greenberg, 2005; Wendel et al., 2010) and as a tool tool to build organizational capacity (Nowel & Foster-Fishman, 2010). In this study, we analyzed six types of relationships among 32 cultural organizations in the performing arts sector in Andalusia. This set of organizations of the Performing Arts in Andalusia form a core-periphery structure. The central space is articulated around a triad of three entities characterized, respectively, by (a) managing resources for training, (b) coordinating the professional association and (c) deploying an active role in the production of shows in recent years. Through cluster analysis we identified four subsets. Each cluster is composed by organizations that have displayed different relational strategies and have different characteristics. The results were presented to representatives of organizations in a focus group. Finally we present the participants' reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study we use personal network analysis to examine the social relationships taking place throughout programme implementation. Previous literature on psychosocial intervention has used network analysis techniques to examine: (a) the interaction between participants, (b) the facilitators' link to the intervention target group, (c) the transfer of knowledge between experts and facilitators, and (d) the interaction of facilitators with each other. However, there has been little research on how facilitators connect with other figures in their organisational context, impacting both intervention fidelity and the fit of the programme to the local context. In this study we combine the analysis of personal networks with qualitative interviews with 102 teachers in 72 schools in Barranquilla (Colombia), with whom we describe the implementation of the psychoeducational programmes Pisotón and Metodologías Flexibles. The results show that programme implementation networks not only rely on facilitators but also on the contribution of the schools' director of studies, the coupling with the regular classroom teachers, and occasional collaborations from the rest of the school staff. After conducting a cluster analysis, we detected the existence of two types of personal networks, some based on the functioning of highly cohesive teams and others with a greater level of centralisation around the head of studies. Implementation networks not only enable the implementation of programme activities, but also the integration of the programme into educational organisations. In the discussion we reflect on how the analysis of facilitators' personal networks can be used to improve the process of programme implementation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

As part of the "Colombian Peace Process," victim assistance programs, actions for the reincorporation into civilian life of ex-combatants, and demobilized persons of the armed conflict have been developed as well as innovative instances of intervention in cases of posttraumatic stress. In this study, we surveyed 143 community leaders from the Department of Atlántico (Colombia), participants in a program for capacity building in rehabilitation and mediation strategies. With a mixed design in which we combine the analysis of personal networks, psychometric scales, and qualitative interviews, we describe the use that community mediators make of their personal skills, their personal network, and social media in their actions to confront social trauma and promote coexistence in the local community. The results show a significant relationship between the density of personal networks and the psychological sense of community. Paradoxically, the high social cohesion of the communities of people displaced by political violence seems to pose objective difficulties in reducing trauma. In the discussion, we indicate that the sociogeographic segregation derived from housing policies becomes an obstacle to the effective functioning of the coexistence and reintegration programs of victims and demobilized persons of the armed conflict. In this context, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp are little used by community mediators in the development of their activities, which they perceive as reinforcing largely the dynamics of segregation of the displaced population., (© 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Social network analysis has grown exponentially in recent years, giving rise to methodological innovations in different scientific disciplines. In psychology, social network analysis has been incorporated into studies of individual personality differences and has generated novel areas, such as network psychometrics and network interventions. In community psychology, a recent review examined the use of network analysis in American Journal of Community Psychology publications (Neal & Neal, American Journal of Community Psychology, 2017, 60, 279). Based on their study, the authors advise researchers to avoid using the fixed-choice name generator when possible, as one of the five methodological recommendations proposed. In this essay, I explain how the recent increase of name generators with a fixed number of alters when studying personal networks is originally linked to an interest in describing structural properties. Second, I analyze the pragmatic contributions of this method: establishing a limit of alters a priori can entail advantages in terms of standardization and comparability of personal networks. Finally, to contextualize the methodological debate, I argue that personal networks represent the diversity of contexts in which the individual participates and are naturally integrated into community surveys., (© Society for Community Research and Action 2018.)

The program Edúcame Primero (Educate Me First) is an evidence-based practice for eradicating child labor that has been applied with positive results in Colombia, Peru, and several Central American countries. In this article, we describe the difficulties of implementing the program in two poor areas of Lima (Peru) between 2014 and 2016. Specifically, we discuss three ethical challenges faced during the implementation of the program: (a) the existence of a movement of working children that defends the right of children to work; (b) the polarization of some community-based associations and government institutions on how to deal with the problems of working children; and (c) the use of network indicators in the evaluation of the community's level of cohesion. Taking the Code of Ethics of the General Council of Associations of Psychologists in Spain as a guide, we adopted a consensus approach in planning and research design, combining different criteria of value with the participation of different stakeholders. The implementation of the program in Peru gave preference to developing skills in children over changing attitudes in relation to child protection, although the intervention openly declared its aims when engaging institutions and families. Finally, we address how social network research places special ethical demands on conventional ethical standards. Our experience with this project shows the importance of acting as a bridge between different stakeholders and assessing how all of them benefit from the intervention., (© Society for Community Research and Action 2017.)

There has been a vast amount of research on the changes experienced by immigrants, but little is known about the changes experienced by host individuals. This article focuses on the role of host individuals in the networks of relations between immigrant populations and the communities from the dominant culture, as well as the changes experienced by host individuals because of their continuous contact with immigrants. This research applied a network approach to the study of the acculturation of host individuals. Two independent studies were carried out: a systematic analysis of the personal networks of Argentinean (n = 67), Ecuadorian (n = 59), Italian (n = 37) and German (n = 37) residents in Seville and Cadiz (Spain) (Study 1); and an ethnographic study with human service workers for Latin American immigrants in Boston (USA) (Study 2). With two different strategies, the role of host individuals in personal networks of foreigners in the United States and Spain was analyzed. The results show that host individuals tend to have less centrality than compatriots, showing an overall secondary role in the personal networks of immigrants. The lowest average centrality was observed in recent and temporal migrants, whereas the highest corresponded to the individuals with more time of residence in Spain. The personal networks of human service providers in the United States vary in ethnic composition and in their structural properties, and therefore shape different types of integrative bridges for immigrants.