El cuaderno de Kurt Lewin

Seminario de Redes en la Autónoma febrero 23, 2012

En julio tendrá lugar en la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona la VI edición del curso de verano «The measurement of personal networks». Es un encuentro dirigido a doctorandos o investigadores que utilicen el análisis de redes personales en sus diseños de investigación. Cuenta con sesiones de formación específicas sobre los programas Egonet y Vennmaker.

Consulta el programa en la página del encuentro.

The aim of this 6th edition of the summer course is to enable graduate students in the social sciences to create, compare and critique personal network research designs. On the first day, we will discuss the basic definitions and central concepts in personal network research and we will briefly relate personal networks with various theoretical streams in the social sciences. This will give students an understanding of the requirements that researchers may pose to their instruments. We will then introduce the basic steps of measurement of personal networks in survey research. The second day is focused on delineating the networks. Students will be introduced to the variety of name generators and alternative approaches used in social sciences, which will be compared with respect to contents, the characteristics of the measured networks and ties, the reliability and validity of the measures, and respondent burden. On the third day, we will discuss the measurement of basic name interpreters, such as tie strength, roles and contexts and the measurement of network structure. An international seminar on personal networks will end the course.

Throughout the course, the students will have hands-on sessions with computer programs developed for the computer-assisted collection of extended personal networks, with both quantitative and qualitative aspects (Egonet and Vennmaker) and they will participate in class discussions.

This summer course is intended for PhD students and researchers interested in designing their own personal network studies. We expect them to have a basic understanding of general social science methodology (e.g., questionnaire construction, concepts of validity and reliability). We also ask them to prepare a summary of their research aims (max. 1 page), to help us understand their interests and focus their attention to specific readings. Students are strongly encouraged to do the suggested readings before taking the course. The sessions will be conducted in English. At the end of each session participants are asked to complete a task and send it to professors.

Después del curso de verano tendrá lugar un encuentro internacional sobre el estudio de las redes personales con la participación de Chris McCarty y Markku Lonkila.

The current financial crisis puts personal networks under stress. With increasing numbers of people losing their jobs, experiencing poverty, or moving abroad to find jobs, and with many enterprises going bankrupt, the social capital embedded in personal networks erodes. In light of the current financial crisis, we wish to re-address the question to what extent personal networks can truly mobilize economic resources, or social resources in response to economic necessity. Also, we wish to address the question how personal networks are used to facilitate collective action such as protest. The International Seminar «The mobilization of social and economic resources through personal networks» is intended to focus on these instrumental dimensions of personal networks. We are particularly interested in understanding the mechanisms behind mobilization (and non-mobilization) of resources.

Scholars working in this area are warmly invited to present their research in the seminar. Some of the potential topics are:

–  The use of informal network connections for the success of small and medium enterprises
–  The use of network contacts for getting hired or promoted in a job
–  The role of personal networks in coping with poverty
–  Effects of the financial crisis on the dynamics or supportiveness of personal networks
–  Effects of mixed embeddedness of ethnic entrepreneurs / ethnic enclaves
–  Civic demonstrations or protest mobilized through personal networks / social media
–  Institutional, organizational and/or network constraints on the mobilization of resources through personal networks.