Week 10: Social Networks Theory, Culture and Health

What does the social network theory examine?

Relationships between individuals, groups and entities.

What do networks influence?

Communication, behavior and decision-making

Formal Sociology definition

Recurring patterns and forms of social interaction

Georg Simmel’s Idea

Theory of Intersecting Social Circles

Granovetter’s strength of weak ties

Strength of relationship is combination of time, emotional intensity, intimacy and reciprocal services.

Importance of weak ties

Access to diverse networks, job opportunities and spread of information

Milgrim’s Small World Phenomenon

Most people are connected through a small number of steps (6 degrees of separation).

Types of social networks

Personal, organizational, online and community

Key concepts in social network theory

Nodes, ties and edges

Nodes

Individuals or entities in a network.

Ties

Relationships or connections between nodes- shows strength of relationship.

Edges

Links in the network-structural, mathematical link

Node attributes

Categorical (color and shape) and continuous (size)

Star structure

Nodes connected to a central hub

Ring structure

Nodes are connected in a circular fashion with information flowing in one direction

Mesh

Each node is connected to every other node, creating multiple paths for information transmission.

Bus

All nodes connect to a single cable or line.

Tree structure

All hierarchal structure where nodes are connected to a central node, like a tree’s branches.

Centrality definition

Quantifies the importance or influence of a node (person or entity) within a network.

Types of centrality

Degree, betweenness and closeness

Degree centrality definition

Number of ties that an actor has and hold social capital

Betweenness centrality

Extent to which an actor lies between other actors

Closeness centrality

Quantifies how fast a given actor can access all other actors which influences flow of information.

Application of social network in PH policy

Policy advocacy, social movements and disinformation and fake news

Social networks in epidemiology

Disease tracking and preventive measures

Challenges of social networks

Privacy concerns, misinformation and manipulation