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Around the world, many pastoralists are diversifying their livelihoods by incorporating alternative income generating activities. Much scholarship has examined the causes of this trend, however, less has been written about the consequences of diversification, especially how it may affect the structure and function of pastoralists' social networks. This perspective presents a conceptual framework for a pastoralist social network transition, driven by livelihood diversification, and its effects on resilience at household and community scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around the world, many pastoralists are diversifying their livelihoods by incorporating alternative income generating activities. Much scholarship has examined the causes of this trend, however, less has been written about the consequences of diversification, especially how it may affect the structure and function of pastoralists’ social networks. This perspective presents a conceptual framework for a pastoralist social network transition, driven by livelihood diversification, and its effects on resilience at household and community scales.

We raise two challenges concerning the validity of arguments underlying Granovetter's strength of weak ties (SWT) thesis: (a) whether weak ties are actually bridges, i.e., they help reach more socially distant actors than strong ties, and (b) whether weak ties transmit information effectively enough so that weak ties' alleged structural properties make them more useful than strong ties. In the course of reviewing subsequent research that has made progress in addressing these challenges, we identify both potential limits and possibilities for the SWT thesis. We argue for the importance of identifying how actors' agency—i.e., the way people use their ties—may affect social networks' value. We conclude by summarizing some outstanding questions that progress on the SWT thesis has generated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the estimated strength of social associations corresponds to the proportion of time spent together, strong links, those that take up most of the recorded time of individuals, are compulsorily transitive and tend to occur in clusters. However, I describe three ways in which the frequency and position of strong associations apparently offset the expected transitivity of strong links in published association networks from 26 species of vertebrates. Instead of occurring in groups of three, strong links were mostly isolated. When they did occur in clusters, the clusters were small. The phenomena increased in intensity as the overall number of links of all strengths and the overall network transitivity increased. Since stable transitive motifs are beneficial to cooperation, these results can help explain why cooperative behaviors are not more frequent than they are in group‐living vertebrates. Inversely, stable transitive motifs may be rare and small because the benefits of cooperation do not overcome the costs associated with these motifs. The summary statistics developed for this study captured information not conveyed by other network‐level metrics; thus they may help quantify the socio‐spatial structure of populations and potentially tease apart the environmental, species‐specific, and individual drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If jobholders are more motivated to help jobseekers to whom they are strongly tied rather than those to whom they are weakly tied, why do jobholders so often help acquaintances and strangers instead of kin and friends? The strength-of-weak-ties theory holds that weak ties are more likely to be conduits for information and influence that best leads to jobs. Recent research, however, calls into question the theory’s key assumption that this is because strongties cannot act as bridges (they can). Drawing from in-depth interviews with 146 blue- and white-collar workers at a large public sector employer, in this paper I offer an alternative explanation for why weak ties matter, one rooted in cognitive and affective processes: Jobholders often know too much about their close associates’ flaws and so assess the risks of making a bad match as high. They also worry more about the implications of close associates’ failures for their own reputations.

Extant research has focused on the role of hub users (e.g., individuals with a large number of ties to other people) in social media–based product adoption or information diffusion processes to the neglect of non–hub users. Drawing on the strength-of-weak-ties perspective and social capital theory, we (1) reveal systematic differences in characteristics of hub users vs. non–hub users in terms of user type, follower type, as well as user–follower relationships and (2) demonstrate differential effects of non–hub users versus hub users contingent upon contextual factors. Using a dataset collected from a popular Chinese micro-blog website, we find that hub users are more likely information disseminators than non–hub users, that followers of hub users are more likely information disseminators themselves than followers of non–hub users, and that there are more reciprocal ties between non–hub users and their followers than relationships between hub users and their followers. More importantly, results confirm contingent effects of hub users vs. non–hub users on reposts. Specifically, relative to hub users, the effect of non–hub users on reposts becomes much less weak when content topics are of high personal relevance to followers' lives or when content has high emotional valence. By contrast, hub users, relative to non–hub users, become even more impactful when many of their followers happen to be active online when an original post is seeded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to explore, analyze, and synthesize seminal and current research on the emerging social network paradigm with a focus on network ties in a various context related to social networking. The research will review and discuss the following topics, including: (1) underlying philosophical orientations, (2) research traditions, (3) methodological approaches, (4) comparison between seminal work and recent research, (5) limitations, and (6) recommendations for further research. Based on the findings, the author recommends further research using more quantitative analysis when comparing independent, dependent, and control variables focusing on network ties in varying contexts or settings to provide more valid and reliable results with objectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored American job seekers' network of information sources using a random sample. Results revealed a pattern that job seekers segmented information sources by social (i.e. personal and professional acquaintances, family, and friends), formal (i.e. employment agencies, printed advertisements, and career events), and online (i.e. online pages and social network sites) types. Although online sources were particularly central in the network, job seekers who used one source type did so at the expense of other types of sources. Older and poorer job seekers were more likely to use formal sources, while online sources were used more by job seekers with higher education and Internet efficacy. The discussion offers advice for job seekers and those who coach job search. This study extends strength of weak ties theory by demonstrating the importance of online sources in job search. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Examined faculty hiring within the information school community. • Used data-driven approaches to quantify and rank institutional attractiveness. • Revealed the importance of weak-tie collaborations for job placement quality. Abstract The past three decades have witnessed the tremendous growth of the number of information schools (a.k.a., iSchools) and the size of their faculty bodies. However, there is little empirical evidence in faculty hiring patterns within the community. Analyzing hand-curated data of 81 junior and 485 senior faculty members from 27 iSchools in the United States and a total of 41 981 journal and conference proceeding publications, we investigate the effects of collaboration experience on placement quality, controlling for other well studied factors including gender, scholarly performance, and prestige of degree-granting programs. In particular, we find that strong ties in collaboration, as measured by PhD advisors' academic achievements, have little correlation with placement quality fixing other factors. On the other hand, weak ties, manifested by coauthors excluding advisors, are found to be beneficial. Providing a better understanding of hiring practice in iSchools, the results highlight the importance of "standing on the shoulders of giants" for junior information science researchers wishing to find high-quality faculty job. Finally, our findings lay the foundation for future investigations, where stakeholders and administrators can assess the effectiveness of existing hiring strategies, which in turn provide managerial and policy implications for iSchools to adapt to the fast growing landscape of information science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates how different aspects of social identity correlated with online networking and job search success. Undergraduates and recent graduates seeking public relations roles between 2020 and 2021 were surveyed (N = 355) for their early career job-seeking practices. The pre-existing lack of diversity in PR and the tendency to favor job candidates who are similar to the decision-maker means that the move to virtual relationship building and vetting may be especially impactful for diverse applicants. The results showed that networking was extremely important as over 94% of respondents found their position via networking of some sort. Respondents found roles most commonly via LinkedIn (57.5%), followed by other social media (49.9%). LinkedIn network size was positively correlated with more job offers, whereas Twitter and Facebook network sizes were insignificant. Those who identified as white used LinkedIn more and had more job offers than those who identified as BIPOC. Veterans and those receiving need-based assistance also reported having fewer job offers. This paper extends the strength of weak ties theory by demonstrating the importance of weak ties in digital networking in the PR industry. This research suggests that maintaining weak ties via LinkedIn is valuable for success in digital networking, particularly by growing a robust LinkedIn network and maintaining an active profile. Practical advice for PR educators and students illustrates how to enhance LinkedIn use to promote equity in digital networking. Moreover, the PR field may promote diversity among applicants and hires through mentoring, recruiting, and growing their own diverse digital network. • LinkedIn was the most common digital networking platform for PR job search. • Larger LinkedIn network size was positively correlated with more PR job offers. • White students used LinkedIn more, had more job offers than students of color. • Early career PR job seekers should expand LinkedIn network, maintain profile for better PR job search outcomes. • Strength of weak ties theory is applied to digital networking in PR. Recommendations for promoting diversity are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test for the predictive power of each of the dimensions of social network in explaining financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda.Design/methodology/approach The study employed a cross-sectional research design and data were collected from a total of 400 poor households located in Northern, Eastern, Central and Western Uganda. The authors adopted ordinary least square hierarchical regression analysis to test for the predictive power of each of the dimensions of social network in explaining financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda. The effects were determined by calculating the significant change in coefficient of determination (R2) between the dimensions of social network in explaining financial inclusion. In addition, analysis of variance was also used to test for variation in perceptions of the poor about being financially included.Findings The findings revealed that the dimensions of ties and interaction significantly explain financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda. Contrary to previous studies, the results indicated that interdependence as a dimension of social network is not a significant predictor of financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda. Combined together, the dimensions of social network explains about 16.6 percent of the variation in financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda.Research limitations/implications The study was purely cross-sectional, thus, ignoring longitudinal survey design, which could have investigated certain characteristics of the variable over time. Additionally, although a total sample amounting to 400 poor households was used in the study, the results cannot be generalized since other equally marginalized groups such as the disabled persons, refugees, and immigrants were not included in this study. Furthermore, the study used only the questionnaire to elicit responses from the respondents. The use of interview was ignored during data collection.Practical implications Policy makers, managers of financial institutions, and financial inclusion advocates should consider social network dimensions of ties and interaction as conduits for information flow and sharing among the poor including the women and youth about scarce financial resources like loans. Advocacy towards creation of societal network that brings the poor together in strong and weak ties is very important in scaling up access to and use of scarce financial services for improving economic and social well-being.Originality/value Contrary to previous studies, this particular study test the predictive power of each of the dimensions of social network in explaining financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda. Thus, it methodologically isolates the individual contribution of each of the dimensions of social network in explaining financial inclusion of the poor. The authors found that only ties and interaction are significant predictors of financial inclusion of the poor in rural Uganda. Therefore, the findings suggest that not all dimensions of social network are significant predictors of financial inclusion as opposed to previous empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strength of a tie is feature commonly studied in the analysis of personal networks. It is data apparently simple to create, that offers a great predictive potential on the exchanges that take place within a relationship, and of its position within the network. However, the wide diversity of indicators that can be found in the literature show evidence of the vagueness in the definition of the concept and the subsequent difficulty to operationalize it, returning mixed results in empirical observation. With this theoretical, methodological and empirical revision, the authors aim to contribute to the definition of the concept. A theoretical dimensionalization of the concept is proposed, distinguishing the expressive, social and structural aspects of the notion. A comparison of various indicators of the different dimensions is offered, using a sample of 441 personal networks and 13,230 relationships, from a survey conducted in Catalonia between 2009 and 2010.

In this study, we develop a theoretical model to investigate the association between social network properties, "content richness" (CR) in academic learning discourse, and performance. CR is the extent to which one contributes content that is meaningful, insightful and constructive to aid learning and by social network properties we refer to its structural, position and relationship attributes. Analysis of data collected from an e-learning environment shows that rather than performance, social learning correlates with properties of social networks: (i) structure (density, inter-group and intra-network communication) and (ii) position (efficiency), and (iii) relationship (tie strength). In particular, individuals who communicate with internal group members rather than external members express higher tendencies of "content richness" in social learning. The contribution of this study is three-fold: (i) a theoretical development of a social network based model for understanding learning and performance, which addresses the lack of empirical validation of current models in social learning; (ii) the construction of a novel metric called "content richness" as a surrogate indicator of social learning; and (iii) demonstration of how the use of social network analysis and computational text-mining approaches can be used to operationalize the model for studying learning and performance. In conclusion, a useful implication of the study is that the model fosters understanding social factors that influence learning and performance in project management. The study concludes that associations between social network properties and the extent to which interactions are "content-rich" in eLearning domains cannot be discounted in the learning process and must therefore be accounted for in the organizational learning design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research argues that participants contribute to online communities because they have developed commitment to that community. Even relatively light commitment—“weak ties”—can make an impact on community participation. We hypothesize and empirically verify that users’ reading activity is an important factor in creating commitment. In doing so, we support and contextualize the Theory of Weak Ties through the investigation of weak “readership ties.” Our research formulates both of these constructs, readership ties and commitment, as part of a larger model that identifies perceived site asset value as an important antecedent for readership ties and, thus, commitment. The empirical investigation draws on survey data from 144 members of the Slashdot community. We find all of our hypotheses confirmed, indicating that all types of site assets (community members, knowledge, and technology) increase perceived site value, and that, in turn, increased perceived site asset value leads to more active usage and higher commitment, thus demonstrating the impact of weak ties. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article examines the informational advantages of interest group networking strategies and how these relate to the provision of policy-relevant information to EU decision-makers. Interest groups obtain a great deal of policy-relevant information through their network connections. In particular, weak tie networks are strong in terms of information sharing among network members. Well-informed groups are best positioned to provide much needed information to EU decision-makers and to thus influence the EU policy-making process. Using original survey and interview data, this article tests the extent to which weak tie strategies help interest groups provide information to the Commission, Parliament and Council. A central finding of this article is that strong ties, rather than weak ties, grant the most important informational advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The strength of a tie is feature commonly studied in the analysis of personal networks. It is data apparently simple to create, that offers a great predictive potential on the exchanges that take place within a relationship, and of its position within the network. However, the wide diversity of indicators that can be found in the literature show evidence of the vagueness in the definition of the concept and the subsequent difficulty to operationalize it, returning mixed results in empirical observation. With this theoretical, methodological and empirical revision, the authors aim to contribute to the definition of the concept. A theoretical dimensionalization of the concept is proposed, distinguishing the expressive, social and structural aspects of the notion. A comparison of various indicators of the different dimensions is offered, using a sample of 441 personal networks and 13,230 relationships, from a survey conducted in Catalonia between 2009 and 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research on community-based tourism (CBT) in Costa Rica has focused on community field theory and the theory of the strength of weak ties. The objective of the following paper is to compare these frameworks in order to better understand the explanatory power and shortcomings of each. To reach this objective, the paper presents six case studies that show how the use of both perspectives can aid in understanding CBT development. The study shows how CBT businesses, although concerned with profit making, also engage in actions that bring economic, social and environmental benefits to the community, contributing to its overall benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes several measures for bridging in networks derived from insight that links which reduce distances in a network are important structural bridges. Bridging is calculated by systematically deleting links and calculating the resultant changes in network cohesion (measured as the inverse average path length). The average change for each node's links provides an individual level measure of bridging. We also present a normalized version which controls for network size and a network-level bridging index. Bridging properties are demonstrated on hypothetical networks, empirical networks, and a set of 100 randomly generated networks to show how the bridging measure correlates with existing network measures such as degree, personal network density, constraint, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, and vitality. Bridging and the accompanying methodology provide a family of new network measures useful for studying network structure, network dynamics, and network effects on substantive behavioral phenomenon. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper uses year 2004 survey data for Taiwan to analyze whether weak ties help job seekers attain better occupational positions and incomes than strong ties. In addition, this paper explores whether the effects vary with job seekers' socio-economic status. The findings show that, for either wage rates or socio-economic indices, the use of weak ties helps job seekers attain better job market outcomes than strong ties, which supports the "strength of weak ties" hypothesis. However, when the respondents are divided into two subgroups based on socio-economic status, the results show that the hypothesis is sustained only for the high-status sample. For the low-status sample, the strength of ties does not affect job-search outcomes. As a result of this distinctive finding, the study further examines the role of social resources in the job-search process. The results indicate that weak ties help job seekers find better jobs only when higher social resources are accessed through weak ties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]