Social Structure + Institutions

• Networks


  a set of social individuals that are linked by communicative acts

  - economic exchange

  - friendship

  - employment relationships

  - family relationships
• Node


  an individual point of contact
• Dyad


  a social relationship between 2 nodes (people)

  - is the most basic unit of network structure
• Triad


  a social relationship between 3 nodes
• Network Analysis


  reveals the objective structure of a social group, without necessitating any analysis on the CONTENT of the interaction

  - number of nodes + connections
• Centrality


  number of connections is relative to the structure as a whole

  (the node with the highest connections has the highest centrality
• Path Distance


  how many connections one would need to get through from one node to another
• Social Capital


  the networks or connections that people have

  - isn't just about connections, but also about the QUALITY of connections (which isn't relevant to network centrality)

  - Increased network centrality = increased social capital

  - people lean on their social capital when they need their networks for their own benefit (ex: asking for a favour)
• The Strength of Weak Ties


  - Granovettor found that job seekers with a network of weak ties were linked to being hired

  - the quantity of the weak ties over the quality of those ties has been found to be better for finding jobs
• Informal Spontaneous Networks


  - are sensitive to structural change

  - Node Positions: identical to individuals who occupy the position

  Ex: before Facebook was created
• Stable Formal Networks


  Node Positions = organizational roles

  Ex: after Facebook was created
• Organizations


  - collectivities characterized by structure that encourage patterns in individual action (can replace people in a position)

  - because the structure of the network is stable, it becomes independent from the people who occupy the network
• Institutions


  made up of multiple organizations that are formally networked
• Institutionalization


  when networks are at first informal, become formally organized, and formally recognized

  - is both structural and cultural
• Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO's)


  - operate regionally

  - tasked with identifying potential organ donors

  - requesting donation from family members
• United Network for Organ sharing (UNO's)


  - manages waitlist

  - allocates organs
• Network Constraint

  when you can't connect to other structures and need bridging connections to reach a structural whole

  • Increased Centrality = decrease in network constraint
  • Increase in Proximity to Structural Whole = decrease in network constraint
  • High Network Constraint = low salary, less promotion raises