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Background: Although mental health (MH) is overall strongly associated with psychological distress (PD), this association is very weak for the sample with high PD. This relationship remains understudied. Aim: This study examines the association between MH and PD and whether this association is mediated by social network (SN) factors for individuals with high PD. Method: Data were taken from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia study ( N = 756). MH was measured using the MH sub-scale of the general health survey (Short Form (SF)-36) and PD was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). The SN measures were derived from the self-completion questionnaire. Using bootstrap mediation analysis, we tested whether the association between MH and PD is mediated by SN factors. Result: The correlation between MH and PD was r = −.410 ( p < .001). The mediational analysis results show that social isolation mediates the association between MH and PD with an indirect effect of β = −0.0070 (confidence interval (CI) = −0.0133 to −0.0023). Moreover, social connections also mediated the association between MH and PD with an indirect effect of β = −0.0073 (CI = −0.0141 to −0.0028). Conclusion: This study has practical implications for the design of social policies that attempt to reduce social isolation and enhance social connectedness to protect MH.

Das Buch Online-Communities als soziale Systeme. Wikis, Weblogs und Social Software im E-Learning von DITTLER, KINDT und SCHWARZ diskutiert den Einsatz neuer, kollaborativer Anwendungen für die Lehre und den Unterricht an Universitäten und Schulen. Es ist eine gut lesbare, an exemplarischen Fällen orientierte Momentaufnahme von Online-Communities aus der Perspektive der mitteleuropäischen E-Learning-Szene. Dabei steht die Frage im Mittelpunkt, ob – und wenn ja wie – neue Online-Plattformen bzw. -Communities neue Formen der Wissensvermittlung und des Lernens ermöglichen, bzw. ob es zu Konflikten zwischen freien und institutionellen Formen kommt. Dass Konflikte entstehen, wird von den empirischen Ergebnissen teilweise gestützt: Institution und freier, informeller Charakter der Anwendungen stehen sich teilweise im Weg.

This article explores the role of 'critical mass' and social networks in the generation of collective action. Drawing on qualitative and quantitative (social network) data, the article argues that both are pivotal in the process whereby collective action takes shape. The empirical focus of the article is student politics but it is argued that the mechanisms and dynamics identified have a much wider domain of application.

This article is about those who need or want to make a living from working on online platforms. Moreover, questions of financial dependence are related to why this work is done and what social recognition the workers expect from it. Our mixed‐methods approach captures this heterogeneous field of online platform work by dividing it into three categories: (a) microwork, (b) mesowork, and (c) macrowork. Microwork involves offering short, repetitive tasks to an anonymous crowd, such as human intelligence tasks. Macrowork consists of market‐based freelance platforms offering highly skilled professionals complex and more extensive tasks. In between, mesowork covers platforms offering specialized tasks such as software testing or content creation. While income opportunities and working conditions vary widely between these platforms, common features include self‐employment and the ability to work from anywhere. Quantitative results show that only for a few highly skilled workers does income from platform work account for a crucial share of their household income. Surprisingly, workers' household incomes do not differ by skill level. Qualitative results complement this picture by giving us a more contextual understanding of the significant variation among workers. We find cases in which monetary remuneration is not the only reason for doing platform work. So, despite all the criticism of precarious working conditions, platform work does have some positive aspects and can also hold the potential for the social inclusion of people who cannot participate in traditional labor markets. This article contributes to these discussions by providing workers' perspectives on the risks and challenges of online platform work, acknowledging their different living situations, socioeconomic status, and health issues.

Describes nature of social networks and tests hypotheses about democratic consequences of social atomization versus integration; data from public opinion panel study, 1996-2000.

Social network sites (SNSs) such as MySpace, Facebook, and Youtube have attracted millions of users, many of whom have integrated these sites into their daily practices. There are hundreds of SNSs, with various technological affordances, supporting a wide range of interests and practices. However, the impact of SNSs is increasingly pervasive, with activities ranging from economic and marketing to social and educational. Among the wide impacts of social network sites, they are, anecdotally, becoming increasingly important in today's businesses. Thus, the purpose of this study is to present a literature review of and classification scheme for research works in business impacts of SNSs, with the aim of clarifying the ways SNSs impact businesses. The review covers 28 journal articles published from 2000 to 2011 and a few months of 2012. The 28 articles classified SNS applications in businesses into six distinct categories: the "marketing and advertising," "knowledge management," "social capital," "relationship management," "e-commerce," and "economic model." The findings reveal that "marketing and advertising" were the most frequently category has been considered in the literature. This review provides a source for discovering business impacts of social network sites and will help to simulate further interest in the area.