The distant core: social solidarity,social distance and interpersonal ties in core–periphery structures

We examine three hypotheses at the foundation of theories concerned with the organization of social space and social solidarity in differentiated groups. The most important of these hypotheses is that interpersonal ties between actors in different positions of a social structure foster social solidarity; however, the theories are silent on the question of whether this effect of interpersonal ties is maintained regardless of the distance that separates the positions of two actors in the group’s social space. In addition, the current zeitgeist on the organization of social space hypothesizes that interpersonal solidarity and ties are negatively associated with the distance that separates the positions of actors in social space. Although interpersonal ties foster solidarity, social distance reduces the likelihood of interpersonal ties and solidarity. Our evidence suggests unqualified support only for the first hypothesis. Surprisingly, the expected negative effects of social distance on interpersonal ties and solidarity appear to be properties of particular forms of social organization and are not ubiquitous implications of social differentiation. These negative effects are more or less pronounced (even reversible) in core–periphery structures depending upon the distance between the core and peripheral positions in the social space of the group.     

Analysing networks of networks

We consider data with multiple observations or reports on a network in the case when these networks themselves are connected through some form of network ties. We could take the example of a cognitive social structure where there is another type of tie connecting the actors that provide the reports; or the study of interpersonal spillover effects from one cultural domain to another facilitated by the social ties. Another example is when the individual semantic structures are represented as semantic networks of a group of actors and connected through these actors’ social ties to constitute knowledge of a social group. How to jointly represent the two types of networks is not trivial as the layers and not the nodes of the layers of the reported networks are coupled through a network on the reports. We propose to transform the different multiple networks using line graphs, where actors are affiliated with ties represented as nodes, and represent the totality of the different types of ties as a multilevel network. This affords studying the associations between the social network and the reports as well as the alignment of the reports to a criterion graph. We illustrate how the procedure can be applied to studying the social construction of knowledge in local flood management groups. Here we use multilevel exponential random graph models but the representation also lends itself to stochastic actor-oriented models, multilevel blockmodels, and any model capable of handling multilevel networks.     

Socio-material network analysis: A mixed method study of five European artistic collectives

In this paper, I argue that we can better understand the relationship between social structure and materiality by combining qualitative analysis of practices in shared physical space with statistical analysis. Drawing on the two-mode approach, I treat social and material structures together with the relationship between them as a two-level socio-material network. In a mixed method study, formalized ethnographic data on such networks in five European artistic collectives are subjected to multilevel exponential random graph modelling. It sheds light on how different kinds of interpersonal ties condition the engagement of individuals with similar materiality over time.     

Diffusion of innovations through social networks: Determinants and implications

Social scientists have long been interested in the diffusion of innovations—the process by which new ideas, behavior, and practices spread between persons, organizations, and even countries. While innovations can enter a community through various channels, ongoing spread of innovations through a community occurs through the medium of social networks—collections of interpersonal or digital relationships connecting actors to each other. Social networks are important for diffusion because relationships foster communication, trust, and flow of information. Diffusion outcomes are also shaped by the structural properties of social networks such as density, centrality, and strength of ties, as well as properties of the innovation and the actors involved in the process. The purpose of the article is twofold: (1) to take stock of the field and review ongoing debates on the role of social networks in the diffusion of innovations and (2) to summarize the sociological implications of the diffusion of innovations through social networks.     

A test of structural features of granovetter's strength of weak ties theory

Granovetter's ‘strength of weak ties’ theory offers a satisfying approach to the study of integration in networks of face-to-face interaction consisting of multiple subgroups. The present paper tests five hypotheses of this theory in the setting of a multidisciplinary social network of biological scientists. Considerable support for the theory is indicated: the local bridges and intergroup ties in the network are disproportionately weak ties.     

Strong or weak ties? British and Indian expatriate scientists finding jobs in Boston

In this article I analyse the different social networks that British and Indian scientists use to obtain job information in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector around Boston, Massachusetts. I argue that individuals' social networks are critical in helping highly skilled migrants find jobs. The research finds that British and Indian scientists use both strong and weak ties to obtain jobs and there is no significant difference between senior and junior workers in terms of whether they relied on strong or weak ties. I argue, nonetheless, that the terms strong ties and weak ties are problematic because they are not clearly understood or mutually exclusive.     

Structures of connectivity

From the earliest days of research on blockmodeling, one primary goal was to develop a method that would exploit the algebra of the social relations among individuals to describe the social structure of the group. This goal was reluctantly abandoned, however, because the presence of idiosyncratic relational ties in the data obscured the structure and no reliable method for identifying these ties existed. This paper presents such a method. We have found it useful to distinguish emotionally weak ties (Granovetter 1973), those with low intensity, from structurally weak ties, those that fail to conform to the pattern of ties that exist in and are reinforced by the social structure. The latter type of weak ties are the idiosyncratic ties that interfere with attempts to describe a social structure. This paper operationalizes the concept of structurally weak ties and presents an algebraic method for identifying them in sociometric data. This enables us to use the algebra of social relations to identify a blockmodel that describes the social structure of the group.     

'Bands of Fellowship': The Role of Personal Relationships and Social Networks Among Irish Migrants in New Zealand, 1861-1911

Utilising personal correspondence, this study explores the practical assistance and emotional benefit that newcomers derived from Irish expatriate kin and neighbourhood networks in New Zealand. These social networks frequently provided new arrivals with practical assistance relating to employment and accommodation, as well as enabling access to marital partners. Besides demonstrating the existence and operation of Irish migrant ties among correspondents, this study also explores the quality of these relationships. It is suggested that high levels of community solidarity rather than their absence, together with the 'cultural baggage' of migrants, may have had negative social consequences such as drunkenness and interpersonal conflict. Yet settlement abroad was not necessarily a crippling undertaking characterised by loneliness and maladjustment. Rather, the succour and support offered by informal expatriate ties helped alleviate feelings of dislocation and proved much more instructive than companionship provided by formal networks.     

Oppositional Consciousness: Its Manifestation and Development. The Case of People with Disabilities*

While resource mobilization theory has advanced our understanding of social movements, two questions require further explanation: (1) How do people come to define their situation as unjust and subject to change through collective action? (2) How is such an “oppositional consciousness” empirically studied? From field research among people with disabilities, I suggest that oppositional consciousness is manifested through the collective actions, symbols, and cultural artifacts constructed by a group. I propose that strong interpersonal ties among group members may not be necessary for an oppositional consciousness to develop. To understand how a dominated group develops an oppositional consciousness, rather than analyzing the strength of its members' social ties, we must examine the context and the nature of these ties: (1) the institutions in which their social interactions typically occur; (2) the socialization process they experience within these institutions; and (3) members' contact with the oppositional ideologies of other dominated groups.     

The weakness of tie strength

The relationship between network structure and access to novel information has fascinated social scientists for decades, culminating in the recent identification of the bandwidth-diversity tradeoff. Yet, existing work focuses on a unidimensional conception of network ties that leaves many important sources of novel information unexplored. We unpack bandwidth, identifying three factors that govern the transmission behavior of network ties: capacity (the ability of a tie to transmit content), frequency (the average time between tie activations), and redundancy (the extent to which a tie reaches persons who are connected to each other). Empirical analyses and simulation models reveal new types of ties, as well as the conventional variety, that open promising research avenues.     

‘Bands of Fellowship’: The Role of Personal Relationships and Social Networks Among Irish Migrants in New Zealand, 1861–1911

Utilising personal correspondence, this study explores the practical assistance and emotional benefit that newcomers derived from Irish expatriate kin and neighbourhood networks in New Zealand. These social networks frequently provided new arrivals with practical assistance relating to employment and accommodation, as well as enabling access to marital partners. Besides demonstrating the existence and operation of Irish migrant ties among correspondents, this study also explores the quality of these relationships. It is suggested that high levels of community solidarity rather than their absence, together with the ‘cultural baggage’ of migrants, may have had negative social consequences such as drunkenness and interpersonal conflict. Yet settlement abroad was not necessarily a crippling undertaking characterised by loneliness and maladjustment. Rather, the succour and support offered by informal expatriate ties helped alleviate feelings of dislocation and proved much more instructive than companionship provided by formal networks.     

Social geography and continuity effects in immigrant women's narratives of negative interactions

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine the role of social geography and continuity in ethnic identity in shaping immigrant women's exposure and reactions to interpersonal problems in old age.MethodsMore than 100 hours of semistructured, in-person interviews were conducted with 19 immigrant Japanese women about their views of interpersonal relationships including problems they experienced living in the Midwestern region of the United States.ResultsInterpersonal problems reported focused on exposure to a specific type of issue among a specific group: gossip within the immigrant community. Spatial distance from country of origin, desire for continuity to ethnic identity, and intragroup variation among Japanese residents in the Midwest were factors that resulted in an inability to terminate interpersonally troubled ties.DiscussionImmigrants' interpersonal problems are deeply connected to spaces and places lived and the human need for continuity. Contextual approaches are needed in gerontology to further understanding about negative interactions in late life across the population of older adults.     

'Sod off and find us a boffin': journalists and the social science conference

Social scientists perform a multi-functional role as researcher, teacher and expert. The academic conference provides an opportunity for all these roles to be engaged and as such is a political and social site where meaning is debated and new research born. The conference is also attractive to journalists as news fodder. This article considers the relationship between journalists and social scientific organizations in the context of a professional conference and seeks to explain the tensions that exist. It concludes that the two cultures of journalist and academic are in conflict where they converge.     

Egocentric contact networks in comparison: Taiwan and Hungary

This study compares the size and structure of egocentric networks in Taiwan and Hungary using a diary approach. Both countries have transformed from authoritarian regimes to democratic states, yet they differ in social, economic, and cultural institutions that may be common to the respective larger region where each is located. To sample the structure of each egocentric network, we extracted information from largely identical contact diaries collected in both countries, 51 from Taiwan and 138 from Hungary. After comparing sample characteristics, network size, and composition, we construct a Strength of Ties (SoT) index based on two objective and two subjective measures of ego-alter ties. We then use this index to analyze tie strength by the types of relationships. On average, the number of alters contacted in one week is much larger in Taiwan than in Hungary, and the gap remains unchanged after controlling for key socio-demographic background factors. Even though the four indicators that we use to construct the SoT index are distributed similarly among the respondents in both Taiwan and Hungary, the composite index pinpoints how the types of relationships play somewhat different roles across the nations. The findings imply that the tendency to maintain only the closest ties with kin and other close friends is linked to distrust in others, a possible ill effect lingering from the authoritarian past. The implication is partially supported by further analyses using the ISSP 2006 survey data. We address how our findings may contribute to the existing literature on the linkage between societal characteristics and interpersonal ties.     

The social processes of interorganizational collaboration and conflict in nonprofit organizations

This article takes a qualitative approach to research in advancing knowledge of the social process by which interorganizational relationships are established and nurtured in nonprofit organizations. The findings reveal that a balance of dependence and autonomy is needed for initiating interorganizational relationships. These relationships are stabilized at the interpersonal level through positive attributes (attitudes, perceptions, and trust) and interpersonal ties of individuals representing their organizations. Sources of conflict, such as value differences, divergent goals, and personality clashes, also influence the working relationships of these organizations.     

Can Social Media Use Produce Enduring Social Ties? Affordances and the Case of Katrina Bloggers

Can previously unacquainted, grieving individuals who use social media to organize and participate in decentralized mobilizations build strong, lasting social ties? If so, how? What is it about particular social media technologies and platforms that might explain the strength and longevity of their social ties? Drawing on a case study of New Orleans bloggers who took part in a variety of contentious and non-contentious mobilizations after hurricane Katrina, we find that people who mobilize through social media like blogs can form strong and lasting social ties. We argue that this is partly because of the types of communication and interaction that blogs afford. We identify two types of affordances, mechanical and cultural, as distinct qualities of social media like blogs, and illustrate how they enable the building of strong, digitally mediated social ties among grieving people.     

Infrastructures of Sociality: How Disadvantaged Students Navigate Inequity at the University1

Through an ethnography of college life in India, I examine the role of social ties in navigating the inequities of university life. I analyze the socialities of sharing knowledge and resources among disadvantaged students, which I call “infrastructures of sociality.” “Infrastructure” designates here two things: first, the role of the university's infrastructure—its physical spaces and organizational routines—in enabling social ties; and second, the fact that these social ties literally function as infrastructure, in that they make university life possible for disadvantaged students, especially in the context of institutional neglect. I therefore advance Bourdieusian scholarship that views social ties among disadvantaged students as merely lacking in social capital, arguing instead that these ties constitute a form of non-dominant social capital that is analytically distinct and powerful in its own right. Yet, I suggest that these social ties are a double-edged sword: while the intensive mutual aid of disadvantaged students makes university participation possible, it nonetheless rests on exclusion from more privileged social groups. Thus, despite mitigating exclusion from the university, infrastructures of sociality also inadvertently participate in the reproduction of inequality, by reinforcing exclusion from the elite cultural and social resources circulating among privileged students.     

Race,ethnicity and the strength of Facebook ties

This study investigates the role of race and ethnicity in the self-reported strength of the social ties of young adolescents on Facebook. Based on the social diversification hypothesis, which argues that in multicultural societies, race and ethnicity are key factors that shape the nature of associations, we examine whether there are ethnic and racial differences in the size and strength of the ties of adolescent Facebook users and the role of the strength of these ties in several positive outcomes. Using data from the U.S. Teens’ Social Media and Privacy Survey conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life project among 802 teens ages 12–17, we found no differences in the total number of ties that adolescents from different ethnic and racial groups reported. However, African Americans reported significantly higher number of weak ties, while White Americans had a significantly higher number of strong ties. The results are consistent with the social diversification hypothesis. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Social networks and Internet connectivity effects

This paper explores the impact of communication media and the Internet on connectivity between people. Results from a series of social network studies of media use are used as background for exploration of these impacts. These studies explored the use of all available media among members of an academic research group and among distance learners. Asking about media use as well as about the strength of the tie between communicating pairs revealed that those more strongly tied used more media to communicate than weak ties, and that media use within groups conformed to a unidimensional scale, showing a configuration of different tiers of media use supporting social networks of different ties strengths. These results lead to a number of implications regarding media and Internet connectivity, including: how media use can be added to characteristics of social network ties; how introducing a medium can create latent tie connectivity among group members that provides the technical means for activating weak ties, and also how a change in a medium can disrupt existing weak tie networks; how the tiers of media use also suggest that certain media support different kinds of information flow; and the importance of organization-level decisions about what media to provide and promote. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for Internet effects.