Social network systems are significant scaffolds for political, economic and socio-cultural change. This is in part due to the widespread availability of sophisticated network technologies and the concurrent emergence of rich media websites. Social network sites provide new opportunities for social-technological research. Since we can inexpensively collect electronic records—over extended perio...

The global health agenda has been dominating the current global health policy debate. Furthermore, it has compelled countries to embrace strategies for tackling health inequalities in a wide range of public health areas. The article by Robert and colleagues highlights that although globalization has increased opportunities to share and spread ideas, there is still great asymmetry of power accor...

This paper discusses the application of the resource mobilization theory (RMT) to clarify the activities of certain key socio-political groups and movements in Egypt up till 2011. It contends that the political movements in the country have utilized information and communication technologies (ICTs) and social networks sites (SNSs) as a tool for mobilizing people and coordinating anti-regime act...

Amartya Sen’s capability approach to human welfare recognizes the impact of social institutions on human capabilities. But as an evaluative framework, it does not analyze the role of institutionalized power in causing or perpetuating inequalities in individual opportunities to achieve. Drawing on authors who are receptive to the capability approach and who have examined the political aspects of...

THE rise of social media has changed political discourse around the world by extending the potential reach of otherwise marginal voices and creating opportunities for massive group coordination and action. The ”Arab Spring” protest movements of the past year demonstrate the political power of these tools. A survey by a news organization in the region reported that the “vast majority of . .. peo...

in this article, the writer discusses the concept of modernity and its relationship with social movements, as is reflected in classical works on modernity as well as in the contemporary modern political and sociological thoughts. the purpose is not to present a quantitative analysis of the development of the concept of modernity, but to explain the relationship between modernity and political a...

The concept of marginalization, which is central to studies in political ecology, can be strengthened by incorporating a focus on the mutually constitutive concept of facilitation. Facilitation connotes how privileged groups are provided institutional forms of security in their pursuit of private gain, contributing to deleterious social and ecological outcomes. This paper builds on the concept ...

Why is health reform so difficult to achieve in the US? When it does succeed, what factors contribute to its success? This paper extends a causal model presented last year to include political and other factors that help to answer these questions. The paper examines the experience of several states in the US as they have struggled with a key aspect of health reform, extending insurance coverage...

Social networks have been resorted to as effective platforms for social mobility in many parts of the world. This mobility occurs when social media users exploit their interpersonal relationships, especially their ‘weak ties’ (Granovetter, 1973). Social networks enable their users to be producers of information, rather than mere consumers, and to be socially and politically well-informed. They ...