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Kumar, S. (2013). Kadushin, Charles. Understanding social networks: theories,

concepts and findings. New York: Oxford University Press: 2012. Information
Research, 18(1), review no...

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20/12/2013 Book Review: Social networks: theories, concepts and findings.

New reviews BOOK AND SOFTWARE REVIEWS

Past reviews
Software reviews Kadushin, Charles. Understanding social
Home networks: theories, concepts and findings.
New York, NY: Oxford University Press,
2012. 264 p. 978-0195379464. $99.00 Understanding Social
Networks
Sev eral entities around us can be seen from the perspectiv e of networks. In
Charles Kadushin
a social network, two entities form an association if there is some kind of
relationship between them. Patterns in these relationships can hav e a
significant impact on the behav iour of networks. Is the field of social
networks only concerned with methodology ? In >Understanding social Privacy Information
netw orks: theories, concepts, and findings, Kadushin ex poses this my th by
ex plaining the field's concepts and theory in a comprehensiv e and
compelling manner. Kadushin, Emeritus Professor at the City Univ ersity of Keen On
New Y ork Graduate Center, is the well-known sociologist who pioneered
social network analy sis. Through his six th book, the author prov ides a
Mass
stimulating account of the basic ideas and findings of social network Comms?
knowledge. The field of social networks has seen tremendous growth.
newinti.edu.my/M…
Howev er, starting with the computational side of network analy sis,
newcomers often miss its historical documentation and rich theory . The Transfer To Over
author fills this gap and prov ides a thoughtful introduction to social 300 US Unis. The
networks and how they operate at both micro and macro lev els. 2014 Enrolment Is
In Progress!
Kadushin starts this twelv e-chapter book with an introduction prov iding
ex amples that capture the current state of the art in social networks and
social networking. The nex t three chapters describe basic network
concepts, such as indiv idual networks, whole networks, and network
segmentation. Well-known network terms, such as homophily ,
propinquity , and structural holes, are adequately described. Howev er, it is
in the fifth chapter that the book takes on an identity different from other
social network books. The psy chological foundation of the social network
discussed in Chapter 5 is a masterpiece and full of fresh research ideas. In
Chapters 6 and 7 , the author ex tends the idea of social networks to small
groups (Chapter 6) and organizations (Chapter 7 ). Here, the author also
introduces the lesser known term effectance, which means motiv ation to
reach out bey ond one's current situation or comfort zone. In both these
chapters, the author asserts that 'rank' play s a crucial role in both small
groups and organizations and brokers make a difference, especially in large
organizations. Games and films like 'Oracle of Bacon' and 'Six degrees of
separation' hav e made the concept of a small world quite famous. In
Chapter 7 , Kadushin ex plains that the small world and communities
depend on safety , effectance, and the size of the network in people's
immediate circles. In Chapter 9, the author discusses social influence and
diffusion. I found this chapter one of the most interesting, particularly
because it is this area that seems to hav e the most practical application of
social networks. For ex ample, the author discusses how social networks
can map and ev en predict the spread of contagious diseases such as HIV -
AIDS. Chapter 1 0 discusses the popular idea of social capital, which is the
'wealth' or v alue embedded in the relationships of an 'ego'. In Chapter 1 1 ,
the author discusses the ethical dilemmas of social network research and
points out how the Belmont report, the standard guide to research ethics,
is difficult to apply to social network research.

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20/12/2013 Book Review: Social networks: theories, concepts and findings.

Kadushin distils ten major ideas in Chapter 1 2, named 'Coda,' which is
essentially an ex tended summary of the book. He also helps readers, by
introducing concepts with simple day -to-day ex amples, for ex ample,
allowing the reader to understand the concept of social capital by giv ing a
neighborhood ex ample (page 1 64, Chapter 1 0).

I hav e one suggestion for the publishers; in the nex t v ersion, please change
to a bigger and more ey e-pleasing font, such as New Times Roman. I found
the present font and size uncomfortable for the ey es. I am sure that ev en if
this increases the book's size by another 50 pages or so, readers will not
mind the bulk. Also, the cov er page is not appealing. Giv en the classic
nature of this book, the phy sical format of the book needs to be
significantly improv ed.

Kadushin does not make claims in the book that can be argued or debated
because he bases his writings primarily on the rev iew of ex isting literature.
Nonetheless, the powerful v oice of the author is ev ident throughout the
book. Kadushin has done the difficult job of bringing together the
knowledge of hundreds of research papers and books in the fast-ev olv ing
field of social networks. The book is timely and can act as a source of
knowledge for both general readers and network scientists looking for new
ideas to further their research.

Sameer Kumar
Asia-Europe Institute University of Malaya
50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
March, 2013

How to cite this review

Kumar, S. (201 3). Kadushin, Charles. Understanding social netw orks: theories,
concepts and findings. New Y ork: Ox ford Univ ersity Press: 201 2. Information
Research, 18(1 ), rev iew no. R47 0 [Av ailable at:
http://informationr.net/ir/rev iews/rev s47 0.html]

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