Social Network Theory Dr. Zaheeruddin Asif 1
Feb 22, 2016
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What is a Network?
• Nodes• Relationships• Properties– Directional – Symmetric– Flow– Mulitplexity
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Centrality
• Closeness centrality: "An important node is typically “close” to, and
can communicate quickly with, the othernodes in the network. “
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Centrality
• Betweenness centrality: "An important node will lie on a high proportion of paths between other nodes in the network."
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Theories of Networks
• Social Capital• Structural Holes• Social Exchange• Collective Action• Cognitive theories• Homophily theories
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Social Capital
• Pierre Bourdieu• "the sum of the resources, actual or virtual,
that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition"
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Social exchange• Social exchange or dependence theories hold
that people form ties with whom they can exchange resources, and only those ties that are mutually beneficial will be sustained over time.
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Homophily
• Pairs can be said to be homophilous if they their characteristics match in a proportion greater than expected in the population from which they are drawn or the network of which they are a part (Verbrugge 1977).
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Homophily
• Homophily theories claim that people form ties with those they consider similar to themselves.
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References
• http://www.commetrix.de/IRIS• http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/7/23/418586
18.pdf• http://www.vincos.it/wp-content/uploads/200
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