Below are some of my publications and working papers.
(If you can't access a pay-walled article, please email me to request a copy)
(If you can't access a pay-walled article, please email me to request a copy)
Recent publications
Millions of Online Book Co-Purchases Reveal Partisan Differences in the Consumption of Science
Nature Human Behaviour, 2017 (with Feng (Bill) Shi, Yongren Shi, James Evans, and Michael Macy)
Passionate disagreements about climate change, stem cell research, and evolution raise concerns that science has become a new battlefield in the culture wars. We used data derived from millions of online co-purchases as a behavioral indicator for whether shared interest in science bridges political differences or selective attention reinforces existing divisions. Findings reveal partisan preferences both within and across scientific disciplines. Across fields, customers for liberal or “blue” political books prefer basic science (e.g., physics, astronomy, and zoology), while conservative or “red” customers prefer commercially applied science (e.g., medicine, criminology, and geophysics). Within disciplines, red books tend to be co-purchased with a narrower subset of science books on the periphery of the discipline. We conclude that the political left and right share an interest in science in general, but not science in particular.
Nature Human Behaviour, 2017 (with Feng (Bill) Shi, Yongren Shi, James Evans, and Michael Macy)
Passionate disagreements about climate change, stem cell research, and evolution raise concerns that science has become a new battlefield in the culture wars. We used data derived from millions of online co-purchases as a behavioral indicator for whether shared interest in science bridges political differences or selective attention reinforces existing divisions. Findings reveal partisan preferences both within and across scientific disciplines. Across fields, customers for liberal or “blue” political books prefer basic science (e.g., physics, astronomy, and zoology), while conservative or “red” customers prefer commercially applied science (e.g., medicine, criminology, and geophysics). Within disciplines, red books tend to be co-purchased with a narrower subset of science books on the periphery of the discipline. We conclude that the political left and right share an interest in science in general, but not science in particular.
A Member Saved is a Member Earned?: The Recruitment-Retention Trade-Off and Organizational Strategies for Membership Growth
American Sociological Review, 2017 82(2):407–434 (with Yongren Shi, Michael Genkin, and Matthew Brashears)
A long line of research documents the essential role of social networks in mediating the recruitment and retention of members in organizations. But organizations also comprise a primary context where people form social ties. We investigate how the network structure that an organization creates among its members influences its ability to grow and reproduce itself. In particular, we propose that two dimensions of organizational strategy influence affiliation dynamics: (1) the extent to which the organization induces social interaction among its members (social encapsulation), and (2) the time and energy that the organization demands of its members. We examine membership dynamics in an ecology where competitor organizations deploying varied strategies vie for the same pool of members. Results show a curvilinear relationship between membership growth and the rate of social encapsulation. Further, we find that an organization’s time and energy demand mediates the effect of social encapsulation. For most types of organizations attaining sustained growth requires a balance between open networks (for recruitment) and network closure (for retention).
American Sociological Review, 2017 82(2):407–434 (with Yongren Shi, Michael Genkin, and Matthew Brashears)
A long line of research documents the essential role of social networks in mediating the recruitment and retention of members in organizations. But organizations also comprise a primary context where people form social ties. We investigate how the network structure that an organization creates among its members influences its ability to grow and reproduce itself. In particular, we propose that two dimensions of organizational strategy influence affiliation dynamics: (1) the extent to which the organization induces social interaction among its members (social encapsulation), and (2) the time and energy that the organization demands of its members. We examine membership dynamics in an ecology where competitor organizations deploying varied strategies vie for the same pool of members. Results show a curvilinear relationship between membership growth and the rate of social encapsulation. Further, we find that an organization’s time and energy demand mediates the effect of social encapsulation. For most types of organizations attaining sustained growth requires a balance between open networks (for recruitment) and network closure (for retention).
Whose Backyard and What's at Issue? Spatial and Ideological Dynamics of Opposition to Fracking in New York State, 2010 to 2013
American Sociological Review, 2016 81(5): 921-948.
A much-theorized but seldom-tested theory is that elites achieve cohesion via the social network they form through their affiliations with local clubs, religious institutions, civic groups, and other voluntary associations. But few scholars have considered how increasing diversity with respect to elites’ gender, race, and social class may undermine such cohesion. We use primary data from interviews with 312 elites in a large Midwestern city to construct the network of affiliations local elites formed with each other. Results from bootstrapping analyses suggest that the most influential elites in the sample achieved a disproportionately high level of cohesion by virtue of the particular voluntary associations with which they affiliated. Not only were the most influential elites more connected to each other through multiple redundant associational pathways, their affiliation networks were less segregated by gender, race, and social class than were the networks formed by less elite members of the sample. Instrumental variables regression analyses further show that the most influential elites were especially crucial to increasing cohesion and reducing segregation in the overall network. We discuss some of the mechanisms through which such integration enhances elites’ cohesion and power.
American Sociological Review, 2016 81(5): 921-948.
A much-theorized but seldom-tested theory is that elites achieve cohesion via the social network they form through their affiliations with local clubs, religious institutions, civic groups, and other voluntary associations. But few scholars have considered how increasing diversity with respect to elites’ gender, race, and social class may undermine such cohesion. We use primary data from interviews with 312 elites in a large Midwestern city to construct the network of affiliations local elites formed with each other. Results from bootstrapping analyses suggest that the most influential elites in the sample achieved a disproportionately high level of cohesion by virtue of the particular voluntary associations with which they affiliated. Not only were the most influential elites more connected to each other through multiple redundant associational pathways, their affiliation networks were less segregated by gender, race, and social class than were the networks formed by less elite members of the sample. Instrumental variables regression analyses further show that the most influential elites were especially crucial to increasing cohesion and reducing segregation in the overall network. We discuss some of the mechanisms through which such integration enhances elites’ cohesion and power.
The Power of Integration: Affiliation and Cohesion in a Diverse Elite Network
Social Forces, 2014 93(2): 803-831. (with Benjamin Cornwell)
A much-theorized but seldom-tested theory is that elites achieve cohesion via the social network they form through their affiliations with local clubs, religious institutions, civic groups, and other voluntary associations. But few scholars have considered how increasing diversity with respect to elites’ gender, race, and social class may undermine such cohesion. We use primary data from interviews with 312 elites in a large Midwestern city to construct the network of affiliations local elites formed with each other. Results from bootstrapping analyses suggest that the most influential elites in the sample achieved a disproportionately high level of cohesion by virtue of the particular voluntary associations with which they affiliated. Not only were the most influential elites more connected to each other through multiple redundant associational pathways, their affiliation networks were less segregated by gender, race, and social class than were the networks formed by less elite members of the sample. Instrumental variables regression analyses further show that the most influential elites were especially crucial to increasing cohesion and reducing segregation in the overall network. We discuss some of the mechanisms through which such integration enhances elites’ cohesion and power.
Social Forces, 2014 93(2): 803-831. (with Benjamin Cornwell)
A much-theorized but seldom-tested theory is that elites achieve cohesion via the social network they form through their affiliations with local clubs, religious institutions, civic groups, and other voluntary associations. But few scholars have considered how increasing diversity with respect to elites’ gender, race, and social class may undermine such cohesion. We use primary data from interviews with 312 elites in a large Midwestern city to construct the network of affiliations local elites formed with each other. Results from bootstrapping analyses suggest that the most influential elites in the sample achieved a disproportionately high level of cohesion by virtue of the particular voluntary associations with which they affiliated. Not only were the most influential elites more connected to each other through multiple redundant associational pathways, their affiliation networks were less segregated by gender, race, and social class than were the networks formed by less elite members of the sample. Instrumental variables regression analyses further show that the most influential elites were especially crucial to increasing cohesion and reducing segregation in the overall network. We discuss some of the mechanisms through which such integration enhances elites’ cohesion and power.
Works in progress
“Not in Your Backyard!: Partisanship, Organizational Structure, and the Mobilization of Conscience Constituents against Hydraulic Fracturing in Illinois, 2013-2014.”
In progress (with Amanda Buday)
In pursuit of their goals, social movements seek to mobilize the largest possible constituency. This often involves broadening recruitment efforts beyond the directly aggrieved population to also include potential conscience constituents—sympathetic individuals who may not benefit directly from the movement’s goals. Despite recent research showing a growing role for conscience constituents within contemporary social movements, few studies examine how movements gain access to and mobilize this important population. We use comprehensive data on a 45-day anti-fracking campaign in Illinois consisting of 32,196 geo-coded public comments expressing opposition to fracking to examine the factors that account for the mobilization of conscience constituents. We find that conscience constituents—defined as fracking opponents who live in parts of the state with no chance of industry siting—contributed the overwhelming majority of anti-fracking comments. A combination of community-level and individual-level analyses show that the conscience constituency was sustained by a close-knit network of professional advocacy organizations and that these organizations mobilized Democratic partisans to oppose fracking on the basis of their political identities rather than a perceived local threat of negative impacts. Based on these findings we propose that two factors might drive the growing role of conscience constituents in political contests in the United States: (1) social movement organizations’ adoption of increasingly rationalized, supply-side recruitment strategies and (2) the growing partisan polarization among Americans. Organizations use new mobilizing technologies to continually introduce issues to prospective conscience constituents, while partisan framing allows prospective conscience constituents to perceive a stake in a diverse set of contests.
In progress (with Amanda Buday)
In pursuit of their goals, social movements seek to mobilize the largest possible constituency. This often involves broadening recruitment efforts beyond the directly aggrieved population to also include potential conscience constituents—sympathetic individuals who may not benefit directly from the movement’s goals. Despite recent research showing a growing role for conscience constituents within contemporary social movements, few studies examine how movements gain access to and mobilize this important population. We use comprehensive data on a 45-day anti-fracking campaign in Illinois consisting of 32,196 geo-coded public comments expressing opposition to fracking to examine the factors that account for the mobilization of conscience constituents. We find that conscience constituents—defined as fracking opponents who live in parts of the state with no chance of industry siting—contributed the overwhelming majority of anti-fracking comments. A combination of community-level and individual-level analyses show that the conscience constituency was sustained by a close-knit network of professional advocacy organizations and that these organizations mobilized Democratic partisans to oppose fracking on the basis of their political identities rather than a perceived local threat of negative impacts. Based on these findings we propose that two factors might drive the growing role of conscience constituents in political contests in the United States: (1) social movement organizations’ adoption of increasingly rationalized, supply-side recruitment strategies and (2) the growing partisan polarization among Americans. Organizations use new mobilizing technologies to continually introduce issues to prospective conscience constituents, while partisan framing allows prospective conscience constituents to perceive a stake in a diverse set of contests.
