(1979). Social Networks and Psychology. Connections, 2 - INSNA

- 9 6 -SI'EQAL JOURNAL ISSUESAbstracts from SOCIALNETWORKS I (No .3), (Feb ., 1979)Foster, Brian L . (State U . of New York at Binghamton) "Formal Network Studies and the AnthropologicalPerspective"Anthropological social network studies are primarily of interest for an original formulation of theclassic sociological problem of reconciling structural and action aspects of social organization . Ingeneral, however, these studies have produced disappointing substantive results owing to serious methodologicaland theoretical difficulties . Within the anthropological tradition are two types of research, viz .,structural kinship studies and cognitive anthropological decision models, which have produced sound substantiveresults and which, if generalized and properly combined, could provide the methodological and theoreticaltools which eluded the network scholars .Coombs, Gary (Archaeological Research, Inc .) "Opportunities, Information Networks and the Migration-Distance Relationship"of migration, on the one hand, and the distancesource and target, on the other, may be traced back at least to the work of E .G .of migration" . Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 48(1885) : 167-227 ; 52observed that the vast majority of migrants tend to traverse relatively shortsubsequent research has done much to isolate the general mathematical attributesThe study of the relationship between the volumebetween the migrationRavenstein ("The laws(1889) : 241-301), whodistances . Extensivetheandmigration-distance relationship, yet the causes of this relationship have been relatively ignoredare thus far less well understood .The present research is addressed directly to these underlying causes . In particular, the studyevaluates the role of information concerning opportunities and the dispersion of this information in socialnetworks in producing a relationship between migration and distance . Analysis centers on an ethnohistoricmigration process, involving the movement of Chumash Indians to the California mission of Santa Barbara .ofJedlicka, Davor (U . of Georgia) "Opportunities, Information Networks and International Migration Streams"Theoretically, the basis for the continuance of international migration streams lies in the free flowof information between origin and destination . The people best informed about possible opportunities atthe destination are most likely to emigrate .This idea is expressed as a simple linear equation and tested in predicting the size of migrationstreams from eight regions in Japan to each of four major Hawaiian Islands . A destination tends toattract new immigrants from an origin in direct proportion to the previously established amount of migrationfrom that origin to that distination . In general, previous migration may have considerable relevance tocontinuation of streams in the future .Pitts, Forrest R . (U . of Hawaii) "The Medieval River Trade Network of Russia Revisited"Medieval trade and communication along the rivers of Russia are considered as a social network . Twomeasures are presented . An intermediate node occurrence rate (Shimbel's stress index) provides a measureof centrality . The short-path distances to all other places are summed to provide a system-effort measureof accessibility . Both measures show Moscow to have been most central and accessible with aggregate leasteffort .Freeman, Linton C . (Lehigh U .) "Centrality in Social Networks Conceptual Clarification"The intuitive background for measures of structural centrality in social networks is reviewed andexisting measures are evaluated in terms of their consistency with intuitions and their interpretability .Three distinct intuitive conceptions of centrality are uncovered and existing measures are refinedto embody these conceptions . Three measures are developed for each concept, one absolute and one relativemeasure of the centrality of positions in a network, and one reflecting the degree of centralization of theentire network . The implications of these measures for the experimental study of small groups is examined .