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***** To join INSNA, visit http://www.insna.org ***** Hi Romana, See below. [log in to unmask] wrote: > Dear Mario & SOCNET Members, > > I am writing in response to your announced book. After reading the first > chapter my impression was enhanced ? it is a thoughtful and provocative > manner of discussing the significance of social networks. Thanks! Although my > modest opinion might not be relevant to the SNA discussions, I have > decided to reply as a beginner in the field. This situation has been > challenging and has led to my developing some arguments concerning > social networks: > > 1. The argument of qualitative methods in the social networks research > I have mainly been collecting quantitative data for my PhD research in > the neighbourhood (Villa Alvalade) in Lisbon, I have simultaneously > developed a qualitative analysis and have encountered a gap regarding > literature and methods supporting the relevance of social clubs in > cities as a source of community building. Does anyone have significant > literature/research on this field? How does this ethnographic research > matter to the development of a more qualitative perspective in SNA (as > the Manchester University did)? > Perhaps Douglas White and Ulla Johansen's *Network Analysis and Ethnographic Problems* might be relevant. The copy I ordered just arrived in the mail. It looks terrific. I'd be interested in hearing of other (recent) works in this field. > 2. The argument of weak ties significance in the urban context > Granovetter and Gans (even though he is not a social analyst) had > divergent perspectives on the power of social networks in deprived urban > areas. How does Small?s perspective fill the gap regarding this relevant > argument? > Sandra Smith's recent *Lone Pursuit* and Susan Saegert and colleagues' *Social Capital in Poor Communities* may be helpful/relevant here. > 3. The Latinos? argument > As a Portuguese and SNA researcher I have been collecting and analysing > (informally) Latinos specificities concerning networks (bonding, > bridging, homophily, embeddedness,?), as a result I have some questions: > How does Latinos? differ, or not, from the others, regarding social > networks? How do Small case studies? enrich this eventual SNA perspective? > Silvia Dominguez has been working these issues recently. She has a paper with Celeste Watkins and is working on a book. (My *Villa Victoria* is also relevant.) There ought to be more on this issue! > 4. The Social Policy argument > Despite the tremendous SNA developments in last years - publications and > developments in social networks - cutting across boundaries of > traditional disciplines. How do Small?s, Briggs? (and probably others) > perspectives matter towards cutting across Social Policy boundaries? How > do Social Policy & Welfare State matter to the social analyst?s research? > I would also be interested in SNA research on social policy and welfare questions. > 5. I would like to apologize for the ones who eventually feel their time > has consumed on these arguments, but the extraordinary sociological > imagination of SNA field and this timely book have made me reflect and > put forward these considerations. > > I thank you in advance. > > Best regards, > Romana Xerez > Abrazos, Mario > > Citando Mario Small <[log in to unmask]>: > >> ***** To join INSNA, visit http://www.insna.org ***** >> >> Dear colleagues, >> >> A book that may be of interest was just released. A critique of social >> capital theory, it examines how the institutional conditions of routine >> organizations affect network formation. >> >> >> Unanticipated Gains: Origins of Network Inequality in Everyday Life >> Mario Luis Small, 2009 >> Oxford University Press >> http://tinyurl.com/laomzd >> >> >> From the publisher: >> Social capital theorists have shown that some people do better than >> others in part because they enjoy larger, more supportive, or otherwise >> more useful networks. But why do some people have better networks than >> others? *Unanticipated Gains* argues that the practice and structure of >> the churches, colleges, firms, gyms, childcare centers, and schools in >> which people happen to participate routinely matter more than their >> deliberate "networking." >> >> Exploring the experiences of New York City mothers whose children were >> enrolled in childcare centers, this book examines why a great deal of >> these mothers, after enrolling their children, dramatically expanded >> both the size and usefulness of their personal networks. Whether, how, >> and how much the mother's networks were altered--and how useful these >> networks were--depended on the apparently trivial, but remarkably >> consequential, practices and regulations of the centers. The structure >> of parent-teacher organizations, the frequency of fieldtrips, and the >> rules regarding drop-off and pick-up times all affected the mothers' >> networks. Relying on scores of in-depth interviews with mothers, >> quantitative data on both mothers and centers, and detailed case studies >> of other routine organizations, Small shows that how much people gain >> from their connections depends substantially on institutional conditions >> they often do not control, and through everyday processes they may not >> even be aware of. >> >> Emphasizing not the connections that people make, but the context in >> which they are made, *Unanticipated Gains* presents a major new >> perspective on social capital and on the mechanisms producing social >> inequality. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> _________________________________ >> Mario Luis Small >> Associate Professor of Sociology and the College >> University of Chicago >> 1126 East 59th Street >> Chicago, IL 60637 >> >> http://home.uchicago.edu/~mariosmall >> >> _____________________________________________________________________ >> SOCNET is a service of INSNA, the professional association for social >> network researchers (http://www.insna.org). To unsubscribe, send >> an email message to [log in to unmask] containing the line >> UNSUBSCRIBE SOCNET in the body of the message. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > This message was sent using IMP, the Internet Messaging Program. > -- _________________________________ Mario Luis Small Associate Professor of Sociology and the College University of Chicago 1126 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637 http://home.uchicago.edu/~mariosmall _____________________________________________________________________ SOCNET is a service of INSNA, the professional association for social network researchers (http://www.insna.org). To unsubscribe, send an email message to [log in to unmask] containing the line UNSUBSCRIBE SOCNET in the body of the message.