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A couple of years ago I sent a request to this list for references to
studies that had used the important matters name generator in
Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Thank you to those that replied. Rich
Ling and I just published our paper "Explaining Communication
Displacement and Large-Scale Social Change in Core Networks: A
Cross-National Comparison of Why Bigger is Not Better and Less Can
Mean More." We compare core networks in the US, Norway, and Ukraine
using large, representative samples collected at about the same time
in all three countries. The paper builds on the results of the two
national surveys I conducted with Pew that largely replicated the core
network findings from the 2004 GSS (minus the spike in isolation).  A
copy of the paper can be downloaded here:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2013.777760

A short summary of our findings:
-Norway looks a lot like the US (small, kincentric core). Social
isolation is moderately higher in Norway.
-Almost no social isolation in Ukraine (large, diverse core).
-Face-to-face contact in core networks is higher where SES is lower
(at individual and country level).
-Email use is associated with higher in-person contact for individuals
of high SES, but lower in-person contact for those of low SES (keeping
in mind, those of low SES still tend to have higher rates of
face-to-face contact).
-Internet/mobile phone use is generally neutral to positive in
relation to core network size (except in Ukraine where frequent
contact in-person and otherwise impedes network size).

Keith


-- 
Keith N. Hampton
Associate Professor
Department of Communication
School of Communication & Information
Rutgers University
www.mysocialnetwork.net
www.twitter.com/mysocnet

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