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This article presents findings about the impact of the first Covid‐related lockdown on the face‐to‐face (FTF) interpersonal contact networks of the Hungarian adult population. Our primary objective is to understand how the size, composition, and quality of such networks have changed. We base our analysis on the contact‐diary method. Our data were collected from two representative surveys of the Hungarian adult population: one in 2015 (N = 372) and one in May 2020 (N = 1001) during the first wave of the Covid‐19 epidemic. No decline in the overall bonding social capital can be detected; however, social isolation has increased. A restructuring has occurred: a considerable increase manifests in the proportion of kin ties, especially children, and a decrease in the importance of non‐kin ties, with a particularly sharp decline in friendships. FTF contacts indicate an increased emotional intensity (except for non‐kin, non‐household members) and an increase in the length of conversations, but there is a decrease in the frequency of meeting alters. The changes wrought different effects on different age groups, with the restrictions most negatively affecting the size of FTF contact networks for respondents aged 60 years or older. Our findings point to the stability and resilience of close family relations, yet the doubling of social isolation as early as May 2020 underlines fears about the pandemic’s potentially detrimental effects on social connectedness. The decline in friendship ties (and most probably in other weak ties) may lead to a reduction not only in the amount and scope of accessible social capital but also to a weakening social integration.

We present a unique collection of four data sets to study social behaviour, collected during international scientific conferences. Interactions between participants were tracked using the SocioPatterns platform, which allows collecting face-to-face physical proximity events every 20 seconds. Through accompanying surveys, we gathered extensive information about the participants: sociodemographic characteristics, Big Five personality traits, DIAMONDS situation perceptions, measure of scientific attractiveness, motivations for attending the conferences, and perceptions of the crowd. Linking the sensor and survey data provides a rich window into social behaviour. At the individual level, the data sets allow personality scientists to investigate individual differences in social behaviour and pinpoint which individual characteristics (e.g., social roles, personality traits, situation perceptions) drive these individual differences. At the group level, the data allow to study the mechanisms responsible for interacting patterns within a scientific crowd during a social, networking and idea-sharing event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents findings about the impact of the first Covid‐related lockdown on the face‐to‐face (FTF) interpersonal contact networks of the Hungarian adult population. Our primary objective is to understand how the size, composition, and quality of such networks have changed. We base our analysis on the contact‐diary method. Our data were collected from two representative surveys of the Hungarian adult population: one in 2015 (N = 372) and one in May 2020 (N = 1001) during the first wave of the Covid‐19 epidemic. No decline in the overall bonding social capital can be detected; however, social isolation has increased. A restructuring has occurred: a considerable increase manifests in the proportion of kin ties, especially children, and a decrease in the importance of non‐kin ties, with a particularly sharp decline in friendships. FTF contacts indicate an increased emotional intensity (except for non‐kin, non‐household members) and an increase in the length of conversations, but there is a decrease in the frequency of meeting alters. The changes wrought different effects on different age groups, with the restrictions most negatively affecting the size of FTF contact networks for respondents aged 60 years or older. Our findings point to the stability and resilience of close family relations, yet the doubling of social isolation as early as May 2020 underlines fears about the pandemic’s potentially detrimental effects on social connectedness. The decline in friendship ties (and most probably in other weak ties) may lead to a reduction not only in the amount and scope of accessible social capital but also to a weakening social integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Levels of coresidence, residential proximity, face-to-face contacts and intergenerational support exchanges remain overall high and stable across European countries. However, to date, few studies have focused on trends in grandparent–grandchild relations. Therefore, this study aims to investigate whether and to what extent grandparent–grandchild exchanges have changed over time. We used data from the Italian Family and Social Subjects (FSS) Surveys, covering the years 1998–2016, and considered three different currencies of exchanges between grandparents and their grandchildren (coresidence, face-to-face contacts, and grandchild care provision). Our results showed stability over time in coresidence, a small reduction in daily contacts (from 47% in 1998 to 39% in 2016) and an increase in grandchildren care (from 78% in 1998 to 82% in 2016). In addition, we found little changes in the associations between such indicators of intergenerational exchanges and the demographic and socio-economic determinants usually used to explain them. Despite changes among Italian grandparents such as increases in their age profile, in education, and in marital disruption, the relations between grandparents and their grandchildren have so far remained stable over time, with generally high levels of intergenerational exchanges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of the paper is to explore how cluster organisations (COs) take advantage of direct (F2F) and indirect (ICT) contacts in fulfilling their main roles. The paper addresses the research question: “How important are Information and Communication Technologies at each level of advancement of cluster cooperation?” The research was conducted in 2016 in four purposefully selected cluster organisations representing metal and ICT industry. The basic method of data collection was an in-depth individual interview. The authors applied the qualitative content analysis as the procedure to analyse the interviews. The research sample comprised of 30 cluster members. The research was based on an original theoretical concept referring to the trajectory of the development of cooperative relationships in cluster organisations. Four levels of development of cluster cooperation as well as three main roles of cluster organisation were distinguished. At each level, COs play one of three identified roles: a direct resource supplier (providing access to resources), a broker (facilitating resource exchanges) and an integrator (integrating into different dimensions), which gives a total of 12 specific roles. The research has shown that both direct and indirect contacts were significant both in fulfilling the roles assigned to the cluster organisations as well as in developing the cluster cooperation. It has been also observed that ICT importance was slightly different at each level of a CO’s development. Only in one identified role (at level II: Process integrator) the importance of ICT tools was at least as great as F2F contacts. The research study contributes to the literature which refers to the question of face-to-face contacts established in geographical proximity versus the ones set up by using Information and Communication Technologies in cluster organisations. It was noticed that even though ICT plays a significant role in the functioning of COs, they cannot replace face-to-face contacts. They can only be their important complement at every level of CO development. There are also some limitations connected with the qualitative approach, which does not allow the author to generalise the findings. The first limitation is the small research sample. The second limitation is the subjectivity characterising qualitative research, mainly due to the applied techniques of data collection and analysis.

Abstract Technological advances have led to a strong increase in the number of data collection efforts aimed at measuring co-presence of individuals at different spatial resolutions. It is however unclear how much co-presence data can inform us on actual face-to-face contacts, of particular interest to study the structure of a population in social groups or for use in data-driven models of information or epidemic spreading processes. Here, we address this issue by leveraging data sets containing high resolution face-to-face contacts as well as a coarser spatial localisation of individuals, both temporally resolved, in various contexts. The co-presence and the face-to-face contact temporal networks share a number of structural and statistical features, but the former is (by definition) much denser than the latter. We thus consider several down-sampling methods that generate surrogate contact networks from the co-presence signal and compare them with the real face-to-face data. We show that these surrogate networks reproduce some features of the real data but are only partially able to identify the most central nodes of the face-to-face network. We then address the issue of using such down-sampled co-presence data in data-driven simulations of epidemic processes, and in identifying efficient containment strategies. We show that the performance of the various sampling methods strongly varies depending on context. We discuss the consequences of our results with respect to data collection strategies and methodologies.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has forced governments to adopt strategies to limit the spread of the virus in the first half of 2020. Under comprehensive lockdown and quarantine measures, social life and interpersonal contacts have changed drastically. We explore the extent to which people have adjusted their daily contacts in Taiwan, where the spread of the coronavirus has been minimal and only some potential virus carriers were ordered to quarantine at home. To compare contact patterns across time and between groups, we used longitudinal online surveys and 30-day web-based contact diaries to collect data from a quarantined and a never-quarantined group of people between late March and early May in 2020. Based on individual survey data (N = 298) and diary records (N = 42,102), we first assess the extent and mode of contacts among all participants against a representative sample of Taiwan that was part of the 2017 module of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP), filtering for age and education to make the groups compatible. Then we evaluate how the daily contacts of the quarantined group (N = 140) differed between shortly before quarantine and during quarantine, and between during quarantine and after quarantine. We also compare between the quarantined group, using only after quarantine data, and the never-quarantined group (N = 158). Preliminary findings indicate some major differences and shed new light on how a contact-based approach to social network studies may help pinpoint precise changes in social interactions under complex circumstances during a pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior analyses of face-to-face contacts in collaborations have focused on one substitute only. Instead, we analyse various potential substitutes for face-to-face contacts in collaborations. Based on 45 interviews with academics from five leading European universities of technology our findings show that face-to-face contacts are closely intertwined with other mechanisms of coordination and communication for collaboration, particularly modern communication tools, proximity, and brokerage. Generally, to add personal and social proximity to their collaborations academics in our sample rely on face-to-face contacts. In their relationships with industrial partners, face-to-face contacts remain crucial to overcome cognitive and organizational distance. Yet when working with their peers, a number of partial substitutes for face-to-face contacts exist, knowingly combinations of temporary geographical proximity and modern communication tools. Moreover, PhD students can play a crucial role as junior brokers, overcoming a lack of face-to-face contacts between partners jointly supervising them while working in different locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on the situation and well-being of children and their families, while simultaneously affecting the ability of welfare services for children and youth to support vulnerable families. As measures of contact restrictions were introduced to contain the virus, and schools and childcare facilities closed, the potential risk to child welfare could hardly be overlooked. Focusing on Germany, this article aims to explore some of the effects of the COVID-19 measures on children and families. Furthermore, it examines a number of key challenges for child protection practitioners. These include identifying potential cases of child maltreatment without the support normally provided by teachers and child carers; and establishing and maintaining contact with clients under physical distancing rules. The article is based on a review of German and English language scientific and journalistic articles, position papers from professional associations and other gray literature. It benefits from recently published (interim) results of empirical studies conducted in Germany, which explore child welfare issues in the pandemic. Under COVID-19, the child welfare system faces unprecedented challenges and uncertainty (e.g. (partial) loss of cooperation opportunities with key partners) whilst showing signs of remarkable resilience (e.g. child protection workers' ability to adjust to new conditions). While the potential of digitalising work processes in child protection has become apparent in the pandemic, the proven continuous face-to-face contact between practitioners and their clients is neither dispensable nor replaceable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological advances have led to a strong increase in the number of data collection efforts aimed at measuring co-presence of individuals at different spatial resolutions. It is however unclear how much co-presence data can inform us on actual face-to-face contacts, of particular interest to study the structure of a population in social groups or for use in data-driven models of information or epidemic spreading processes. Here, we address this issue by leveraging data sets containing high resolution face-to-face contacts as well as a coarser spatial localisation of individuals, both temporally resolved, in various contexts. The co-presence and the face-to-face contact temporal networks share a number of structural and statistical features, but the former is (by definition) much denser than the latter. We thus consider several down-sampling methods that generate surrogate contact networks from the co-presence signal and compare them with the real face-to-face data. We show that these surrogate networks reproduce some features of the real data but are only partially able to identify the most central nodes of the face-to-face network. We then address the issue of using such down-sampled co-presence data in data-driven simulations of epidemic processes, and in identifying efficient containment strategies. We show that the performance of the various sampling methods strongly varies depending on context. We discuss the consequences of our results with respect to data collection strategies and methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]