Macro environmental factors - NETWORKS

Network interventions are based on the of theory (), which explains how new and practices within and between communities.

A social network is a set or sets of actors and the relation or relations on them.

spread in peer networks because as individuals we want to search for our own , i.e. who am I? how should I act? how should I feel?
- relationships
- to a group

How norms spread in a network is influenced by
- processes
- in the network
- -level network

PROCESSES AT PLAY IN A NETWORK ARE:

= peers set an example behaviour for others to follow, or put pressure on them to follow. The other peers wish to assimilate.

- people build relationships/select friends because the other person is doing a behaviour similar to them. People end relationships because the other person is not doing a behaviour similar to them.

- other factors - people change behaviour just spontaneously, or they are influenced by the media or parents, or other influences outside the network.

Types of position in the network are
- ates
- es
- member

NETWORK-LEVEL NETWORK CHARACTERISTICS have an impact on the spread of social norms

i.e. how is the network? Density = number of ties divided by possible number of ties in the network

how /decentralised is the network? i.e. mainly focused on one person or one set of people?

degree of in the network - are network ties reciprocal?

degree of of the network (divides network into triads and measures the nature of the interactions within the triads)

Selecting what type of network intervention depends on:

of network: friendships, discussion, advice

Overall network

Type of change

/situational context

Why would you use network based interventions?

sampling often limits the kind of research questions that can be asked and studied. Random sampling individuals from the context that may their behavior.

Someone’s in a network provides explanatory power when trying to individual behavior.

Research of - “If your friends are obese, your risk of obesity is percent higher. … If your friend’s friends are obese, your risk of obesity is percent higher. … If your friend’s friend’s friend, someone you probably don’t even know, is obese, your risk of obesity is percent higher. It’s only when you get to your friend’s friend’s friend’s friends that there’s no longer a relationship between that person’s body size and your own body size.”

4 network intervention types

1. Identify to act as a champion - EXAMPLE ASSIST PROGRAMME

Identify opinion leaders
Identify bridging professionals
Identify low-threshold change agents
Target the network periphery

2. - Identify specific group to change at the same time
Look at the core-periphery structure
Identify the core of the organisation network
Focus resources on the core

3. - Stimulating or forcing peer-to-peer interaction
Use mass media campaigns to create a smoke-free buzz among youngsters.
Network outreach: let youngsters recruit their own friends to receive an intervention together
Respondent driven sampling (RDS) or snowball method
Identify ‘seeds’ that recruit others to participate

4. - Change the network by:
Adding/deleting nodes
Adding/deleting links between nodes
Rewiring existing links