Political participation and voluntary associations : A hypergraph case study.
Civic organizations, ranging from interest groups to voluntary associations, significantly influence policy formation in representative democracies. This work presents a local case study that examines the relationship between voluntary associations and local political institutions in a village with...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311626 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832540218535706624 |
|---|---|
| author | Amina Azaiez Robin Salot |
| author_facet | Amina Azaiez Robin Salot |
| author_sort | Amina Azaiez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Civic organizations, ranging from interest groups to voluntary associations, significantly influence policy formation in representative democracies. This work presents a local case study that examines the relationship between voluntary associations and local political institutions in a village with nearly two thousand residents. Traditionally, sociologists' approaches have focused on individual characteristics such as age, gender, or socio-professional status. In this study, we analyze social interactions between members of organizations modeled through a hypergraph. Specifically, we model interactions as hyperedges that correspond to activities proposed by organizations and involve the individuals who participate in those activities. Our analysis reveals a community-based structure, where members of similar types of organizations tend to interact more frequently. To quantify 'political participation,' we introduce an interaction-based measure that extends degree centrality. We also introduce the 'diversity coefficient' as an extension of degree centrality to capture an individual's ability to participate in activities composed of members from different communities. Among other centrality measures, we find that the diversity coefficient is the most significant factor in explaining political participation among members of associations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e58a60001f4741b1a199fc927cb91a91 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-e58a60001f4741b1a199fc927cb91a912025-02-05T05:32:05ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01201e031162610.1371/journal.pone.0311626Political participation and voluntary associations : A hypergraph case study.Amina AzaiezRobin SalotCivic organizations, ranging from interest groups to voluntary associations, significantly influence policy formation in representative democracies. This work presents a local case study that examines the relationship between voluntary associations and local political institutions in a village with nearly two thousand residents. Traditionally, sociologists' approaches have focused on individual characteristics such as age, gender, or socio-professional status. In this study, we analyze social interactions between members of organizations modeled through a hypergraph. Specifically, we model interactions as hyperedges that correspond to activities proposed by organizations and involve the individuals who participate in those activities. Our analysis reveals a community-based structure, where members of similar types of organizations tend to interact more frequently. To quantify 'political participation,' we introduce an interaction-based measure that extends degree centrality. We also introduce the 'diversity coefficient' as an extension of degree centrality to capture an individual's ability to participate in activities composed of members from different communities. Among other centrality measures, we find that the diversity coefficient is the most significant factor in explaining political participation among members of associations.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311626 |
| spellingShingle | Amina Azaiez Robin Salot Political participation and voluntary associations : A hypergraph case study. PLoS ONE |
| title | Political participation and voluntary associations : A hypergraph case study. |
| title_full | Political participation and voluntary associations : A hypergraph case study. |
| title_fullStr | Political participation and voluntary associations : A hypergraph case study. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Political participation and voluntary associations : A hypergraph case study. |
| title_short | Political participation and voluntary associations : A hypergraph case study. |
| title_sort | political participation and voluntary associations a hypergraph case study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0311626 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT aminaazaiez politicalparticipationandvoluntaryassociationsahypergraphcasestudy AT robinsalot politicalparticipationandvoluntaryassociationsahypergraphcasestudy |