Yang-chih Fu

Measuring personal networks with daily contacts: a single-item survey question and the contact diary

Abstract This paper examines two extreme approaches that are alternatives to measure egocentric networks with network generators. The single-item approach to measure daily contacts differentiates the individuals effectively, corresponds closely with complex network measures, and reveals well how individuals vary in both expressive and instrumental returns, as supported by 14 large-scale probability surveys from three Chinese societies over a decade. This paper also draws upon three sets of sophisticated contact diaries, which yielded rich data about the circumstance of each contact, the alters characteristics and the ego–alter relationship. Along with the diary approach, which offers sophisticated data about contacts, ties and networks, the single-item survey approach is another extreme yet straightforward measure of daily contacts.

Weak ties and contact initiation in everyday life: Exploring contextual variations from contact diaries

Abstract This study examines how the significance of weak ties varies by contact initiation and purposes of contact in everyday life. Based on data from 55 contact diaries, we analyze the extent to which diary keepers judge each of 104,361 specific contacts as beneficial after they occur, by how well they knew the target person beforehand. Our hypothesis testing and bootstrap resampling show that when a diary keeper initiates a contact, weak ties result in more gains. In contrast, when the other party starts the contact, it is strong rather than weak ties that turn out to be more beneficial to the diary keeper. Such effects vary by other contextual factors, however, particularly the purposes of contacts.

Egocentric contact networks in comparison: Taiwan and Hungary

Abstract This study compares the size and structure of egocentric networks in Taiwan and Hungary using a diary approach. Both countries have transformed from authoritarian regimes to democratic states, yet they differ in social, economic, and cultural institutions that may be common to the respective larger region where each is located. To sample the structure of each egocentric network, we extracted information from largely identical contact diaries collected in both countries, 51 from Taiwan and 138 from Hungary. After comparing sample characteristics, network size, and composition, we construct a Strength of Ties (SoT) index based on two objective and two subjective measures of ego-alter ties. We then use this index to analyze tie strength by the types of relationships. On average, the number of alters contacted in one week is much larger in Taiwan than in Hungary, and the gap remains unchanged after controlling for key socio-demographic background factors. Even though the four indicators that we use to construct the SoT index are distributed similarly among the respondents in both Taiwan and Hungary, the composite index pinpoints how the types of relationships play somewhat different roles across the nations. The findings imply that the tendency to maintain only the closest ties with kin and other close friends is linked to distrust in others, a possible ill effect lingering from the authoritarian past. The implication is partially supported by further analyses using the ISSP 2006 survey data. We address how our findings may contribute to the existing literature on the linkage between societal characteristics and interpersonal ties.

ClickDiary: Online Tracking of Health Behaviors and Mood

Background Traditional studies of health behaviors are typically conducted using one-shot, cross-sectional surveys. Thus, participants’ recall bias may undermine the reliability and validity of the data. To capture mood changes and health behaviors in everyday life, we designed an online survey platform, ClickDiary, which helped collect more complete information for comprehensive data analyses. Objective We aim to understand whether daily mood changes are related to one’s personal characteristics, demographic factors, and daily health behaviors. Methods The ClickDiary program uses a Web-based platform to collect data on participants’ health behaviors and their social-contact networks. The name ClickDiary comes from the platform’s interface, which is designed to allow the users to respond to most of the survey questions simply by clicking on the options provided. Participants were recruited from the general population and came from various backgrounds. To keep the participants motivated and interested, the ClickDiary program included a random drawing for rewards. We used descriptive statistics and the multilevel proportional-odds mixed model for our analysis. Results We selected 130 participants who had completed at least 30 days of ClickDiary entries from May 1 to October 31, 2014 as our sample for the study. According to the results of the multilevel proportional-odds mixed model, a person tended to be in a better mood on a given day if he or she ate more fruits and vegetables, took in more sugary drinks, ate more fried foods, showed no cold symptoms, slept better, exercised longer, and traveled farther away from home. In addition, participants were generally in a better mood during the weekend than on weekdays. Conclusions Sleeping well, eating more fruits and vegetables, and exercising longer each day all appear to put one in a better mood. With the online ClickDiary survey, which reduces the recall biases that are common in traditional one-shot surveys, we were able to collect and analyze the daily variations of each subject’s health behaviors and mood status.

Social capital and its institutional contingency : a study of the United States, China and Taiwan

Introduction 1. Social Capital in a Comparative Perspective Nan Lin, Yang-chih Fu and Chih-jou Jay Chen Part I: Measuring Social Capital 2. Contact Status and Finding a Job: Validation and Extension Nan Lin, Hang Young Lee and Dan Ao 3. Homophily and Heterophily in the Position-Generated Networks in the U.S. and China Dan Ao 4. Status-Based Differential Memory and Measurement of Social Capital: Recall Errors and Bias Estimates Kuo-Hsien Su and Nan Lin Part II: Endogeneity of Social Capital: Structural and Network Features 5. Similarities and Differences in Relation-Specific Social Resources Among Three Societies: Taiwan, China and the United States Ray-May Hsung and Ronald L. Breiger 6. How Social Capital Changes During Ones Current Job: Work Conditions and Contact Patterns Yang-chih Fu, Ray May Hsung and Szu-Ying Lee 7. Occupational Sex Composition, Cultural Contexts, and Social Capital Formation: Cases of the United States and Taiwan Wei-hsin Yu and Chi-Tsun Chiu 8. The Internet Implications for Social Capital: Stock, Changes, and Tie Strength Wenhong Chen Part III: Accessing and Mobilizing Social Capital: Institutional, Networking and Organizational Factors 9. Job Search Chains and Embedded Resources: A Comparative Analysis Among Taiwan, China and the US Chih-jou Jay Chen 10. Network and Contact Diversities in Race and Gender and Status Attainment in the United States Joonmo Son 11. The Road to Democracy: A Three-Society Comparison of Civic Network Structures Yanlong Zhang and Hang Young Lee Part IV: Social Capital and Well-Being 12. Social Capital in the Workplace and Health Disruptions: A Cross-National Investigation Steve McDonald, Feinian Chen and Martha Crowley 13. Bright and Dark Sides of Who You Know in the Evaluation of Well-Being: Social Capital and Life Satisfaction Across Three Societies Lijun Song Appendix I: Social Capital USA 2004 Telephone Interview Questionnaire. Appendix II: Sample Characters for U.S., Taiwan, and China 2004-2005 Social Capital Surveys.

Changing social contact patterns under tropical weather conditions relevant for the spread of infectious diseases.

Weather conditions and social contact patterns provide some clues to understanding year-round influenza epidemics in the tropics. Recent studies suggest that contact patterns may direct influenza transmission in the tropics as critically as the aerosol channel in temperate regions. To examine this argument, we analysed a representative nationwide survey dataset of contact diaries with comprehensive weather data in Taiwan. Methods we used included model-free estimated relative changes in reproduction number, R 0; relative changes in the number of contacts; and model-based estimated relative changes in mean contacts using zero-inflated negative binomial regression models. Overall, social contact patterns clearly differ by demographics (such as age groups), personal idiosyncrasies (such as personality and happiness), and social institutions (such as the division of weekdays and weekend days). Further, weather conditions also turn out to be closely linked to contact patterns under various circumstances. Fleeting contacts, for example, tend to diminish when it rains hard on weekdays, while physical contacts also decrease during weekend days with heavy rain. Frequent social contacts on weekdays and under good weather conditions, including high temperature and low absolute humidity, all might facilitate the transmission of infectious diseases in tropical regions.

Determinants of Receiving the Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Vaccine and Intention to Receive the Seasonal Influenza Vaccine in Taiwan

Objectives The paper examines the factors associated with both receiving pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccines and individuals’ intentions to get the next seasonal influenza vaccine in Taiwan. Methods We conducted a representative nationwide survey with in-person household interviews during April–July 2010. Multivariate logistic regression incorporated socio-demographic background, household characteristics, health status, behaviors, and perceptions of influenza and vaccination. Results We completed interviews with 1,954 respondents. Among those, 548 (28.0%) received the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 vaccination, and 469 (24.0%) intended to get the next seasonal influenza vaccine. Receipt of the H1N1 vaccine was more prevalent among schoolchildren, the elderly, those who had contact with more people in their daily lives, and those who had received influenza vaccinations in previous years. In comparison, the intention to receive the next seasonal influenza vaccine tended to be stronger among children, the elderly, and those who reported less healthy status or lived with children, who received a seasonal influenza vaccination before, and who worried more about a possible new pandemic. Conclusions Children, the elderly, and those who had gotten seasonal flu shots before in Taiwan were more likely to both receive a pandemic H1N1 vaccination and intend to receive a seasonal influenza vaccine.

Differentiating Personal Facilitators of Leisure Participation: Socio-demographics, Personality Traits, and the Need for Sociability

This paper first compares the extent to which socio-demographics, personality traits, and the need for sociability each facilitates different kinds of leisure participation with the general population in Taiwan. It then distinguishes how some of these factors differ in facilitating leisure for men and women. By means of hierarchical regression analyses of data from the Taiwan Social Change Survey (n=2,144), we found that the participation in solitary leisure activities, including music listening and book reading, was overwhelmingly determined by socio-demographic factors, particularly age and education. In contrast, both personality traits and the need for sociability help explain who are engaged more often in mostly-social leisure such as gathering with friends and doing physical activities. Such intrapersonal and interpersonal forces also accounted for a larger proportion of the total explained variance. Although most measures of an individuals background were significant in differentiating who participated more in both solitary and mostly-social leisure, the activities differed markedly in the size effects of these measures. Furthermore, some of these personal measures facilitated leisure participation consistently, whereas others exerted somewhat contradictory or inconsistent effects, particularly within male and female subpopulations.

Contact Trees: Network Visualization beyond Nodes and Edges

Node-Link diagrams make it possible to take a quick glance at how nodes (or actors) in a network are connected by edges (or ties). A conventional network diagram of a “contact tree” maps out a root and branches that represent the structure of nodes and edges, often without further specifying leaves or fruits that would have grown from small branches. By furnishing such a network structure with leaves and fruits, we reveal details about “contacts” in our ContactTrees upon which ties and relationships are constructed. Our elegant design employs a bottom-up approach that resembles a recent attempt to understand subjective well-being by means of a series of emotions. Such a bottom-up approach to social-network studies decomposes each tie into a series of interactions or contacts, which can help deepen our understanding of the complexity embedded in a network structure. Unlike previous network visualizations, ContactTrees highlight how relationships form and change based upon interactions among actors, as well as how relationships and networks vary by contact attributes. Based on a botanical tree metaphor, the design is easy to construct and the resulting tree-like visualization can display many properties at both tie and contact levels, thus recapturing a key ingredient missing from conventional techniques of network visualization. We demonstrate ContactTrees using data sets consisting of up to three waves of 3-month contact diaries over the 2004-2012 period, and discuss how this design can be applied to other types of datasets.

Overlapping Social Networks How Couples Manage Family Expenditure in Taiwan

This study uses Burt’s theory of structural holes and Lin, Fu and Hsung’s theory of position-generated networks to examine a hypothesis about the overlap of couples’ social networks and the degree of joint behaviour in conjugal role relationships. The authors devised five overlap types of couples’ networks based on two-dimensional network characteristics: the diversity of ego’s kin ties and the degree of cross-linkages through spouse’s contacts. They measured the conjugal role by how couples manage their day-to-day expenditure and classified them into three categories: mainly managed by wife, mainly managed by husband and joint management. This study used the 2001 Taiwan Social Change Survey to test the hypothesis on the couples’ networks and conjugal roles. After controlling for all other variables, the overlap types of the couples’ social networks still had significant effects on their management of family expenditure. Specifically, the couples with high diversity of ego’s kin ties and high cross-linkages through spouse practised the joint conjugal role pattern of family expenditure. The reason is that the high diversity of ego’s kin ties provides plural patterns of conjugal roles to be identified and the high cross-linkages through the spouse provide the bargaining power from the spouse.