Social Networks and Social Exclusion
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Social Networks and Social Exclusion

Sociological and Policy Perspectives

Graham Allan, Chris Phillipson, Chris Phillipson

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eBook - ePub

Social Networks and Social Exclusion

Sociological and Policy Perspectives

Graham Allan, Chris Phillipson, Chris Phillipson

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About This Book

How important are social networks to daily life? There is now substantial evidence that attachment to a network may be vital in securing employment, in promoting good health, in maintaining positive relationships, and in supporting people in transitions through the life course. Equally, lack of access to networks may lead to problems of various kinds, such as poverty, lack of support in old age, and social isolation. Providing an overview of the social network literature with a particular focus on the USA and Britain, this illuminating volume reviews the range of social issues and concerns associated with the social network perspective. Examples of quantitative and qualitative studies are given using a broad network approach, and the volume concludes with a discussion of the implications for social and public policy of a network perspective.

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Publisher
Routledge
Year
2017
ISBN
9781351899413

Chapter 1
Introduction

Chris Phillipson, Graham Allan and David Morgan
A substantial literature has emerged exploring the nature and role of social networks in daily life. Social network analysis has itself been the subject of a number of reviews, not least those by Wellman and Berkowitz (1988), Scott (2000), and Wasserman and Faust (1994). Summaries of this tradition are provided in Allan (1996) and Crow and Allan (1994). From a sociological perspective, network analysis has been used to explore: first, the impact of informal ties both emotionally for the individual and for patterns of social organization more generally; second, the impact of particular configurations of social networks; third, the role of networks in the provision of support; fourth, the implications for public policy of adopting a social network perspective.
A more recent development (at least in the UK) has been the linkage between social networks and ideas about social inclusion and exclusion. Personal social networks may be viewed as ‘structures of opportunity’ (6, 1998) which may facilitate or frustrate access to different kinds of resources. This may be especially the case where deprivation is geographically concentrated, an important theme in recent academic research (Glennerster et al., 1999) as well as government social policy (Social Exclusion Unit, 2001). In addition, following Granovetter (1973), a number of studies have explored the impact ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ ties may have upon transitions through the life course. Ideas about ‘social capital’ have also contributed to this debate, these referring to the benefits which arise from membership of social networks or other kinds of social structures (Portes, 1998).
The above themes are also expressed in public policy concerns about the way in which particular network configurations may prevent people from moving out of poverty or unemployment. Membership of the ‘right kind’ of network is viewed by policy-makers as important in promoting access to employment, or preventing crime, or achieving support in old age. However more information is needed about the role played by networks, and bridges need to be built between research findings and the development of social policy. Social networks may also have ‘antisocial’ aspects that need better documentation and understanding. Strong social networks may operate to exclude outsiders from resources or opportunities; solidarity for one group may result in denial of access to opportunities for another. In addition, cohesive groups may exert pressure to conform. As a consequence, strong networks may place restrictions on people’s ability to change of adopt new lifestyles.
The concept of ‘social network’ is both seductive and intuitively simple. Unlike some other social science concepts, the idea of the social network seems to link readily with the way in which individuals routinely live and understand their lives. There are few true isolates in the world. Each individual can be linked, in a variety of ways and with varying degrees of weight or significance, to a set of other people and these, in their turn, may sometimes be linked to each other or to others outside this original, ego-centred, network. The seductive character of this idea derives in part from this apparent everyday simplicity and in part from the fact that it seems to occupy a place and act as bridge between clearly bounded collectivities such as social groups, communities and so forth, and atomized individuals.
One of the origins of this approach was in British social anthropology and its attempt in the 1960s to develop an understanding of social connectedness in contexts not obviously shaped by clearly defined or bounded collectivities (Frankenberg, 1966). These contexts were as varied as residential areas in London or rapidly developing urban environments in Southern Africa. But the aim was perhaps less to remove or displace collectivities such as families or communities but rather to develop a more nuanced understanding of the ways in which they worked. Thus families are better understood as relatively fluid sets of connections across generations and between households rather than as firmly bounded entities. The idea of social network also seemed to be especially effective in capturing those relationships or social connections, such as friends, neighbours, workmates or acquaintances which could rarely be understood in bounded terms.
Social networks, then, are about linkages and connectedness and this idea of linkage may also serve as a metaphor for the many usages of social networks across a wide range of social sciences. First there is the link between theory and research with the social network perspective being viewed as an example of what Merton (1957) termed ‘middle-range’ theorizing. It is an abstraction from reality and a focus on particular aspects of social relationships to the exclusion of others. Yet it does not exist at the higher, more abstract realms of grand theory. The concept itself readily suggests ways of researching social life in terms of, for example, density of social network or the different weightings that might be attached to particular ties.
Another example of the links between theory and research is provided by the concept of ‘social capital’, a term which is now widely used across the social sciences, a development reflected in this volume. There does appear to be some kind of natural affinity between network analysis and the idea of social capital. Social capital can be roughly understood in terms of the social resources and connections that an individual has at his or her disposal and network analysis provides an elegant and visual way of understanding these resources and connections.
Another metaphorical linkage provided by social network analysis is between qualitative and quantitative research. The key elements of network analysis seem readily, perhaps too readily, open to measurement. But the best examples of network analysis recognize that the researcher is always encouraged to think further about the meanings of the social connections which may be mapped out, meaning in terms of the individuals concerned and in terms of wider theoretical or policy issues. An important objective of this volume has been to provide a range of examples from network-based studies drawn from quantitative as well as qualitative research.
The final metaphorical linkage provided by network analysis is that between research and policy, a question addressed in different ways by many of the papers in this book. Policy-makers and practitioners have become aware over the years that the unit of their concern is neither the isolated individual nor a theoretically bounded group such as a household or a community. Themes of interdependence and interconnectedness have come to the fore in recent exchanges between researchers and policy-makers, especially in the investigation of social exclusion. The three terms ‘social network’, ‘social capital’ and ‘social exclusion’ (and ‘inclusion’) are linked in a variety of complex and interesting ways and all of the work reported here focuses, with different degrees of emphasis, on these interchanges.

Structure of the Book

The chapters included bring together:
  • an overview of the social network literature, summarizing the main sociological arguments and traditions;
  • a review of the range of social phenomena which social networks seek to explain;
  • examples of quantitative and qualitative studies using a broad network approach;
  • a discussion of the implications for social and public policy of a network perspective.
In Chapter 2 Graham Crow provides an overview of the debate about the relationship between social networks and questions relating to social exclusion and inclusion. He notes the extent to which networks are increasingly important in shaping life chances and opportunities, suggesting as well that this may create new forms of exclusion as well assisting participation within civil society. The social network literature has been dominated by contributions from the USA and Canada over the past 20 years, and in Chapter 3 James Lubben and Melanie Gironda provide a summary of this work. They give particular emphasis to the links between social networks and health, and provide a detailed illustration of a particular approach to measuring social networks. Chris Phillipson extends this discussion in Chapter 4, examining how researchers have assessed the role of networks in the provision of support in old age. He reviews methodologies for assessing different types of networks and provides an agenda for future research in the field.
The next group of chapters explores, through empirical studies, the role of networks at different points of the life course. In Chapter 5 Virginia Morrow describes children’s accounts of friendship-based networks. Her work reflects the new sociology of childhood that takes children as active participants during the period of socialization. Her research demonstrates younger people constructing informal communities with friendship a key element in the formation of identity. The following three chapters take different facets of the role of networks in the lives of adults. In Chapter 6 Ray Pahl and Liz Spencer explore the nature of friendship within what has been termed ‘personal communities’ (the set of intimate ties forged with friends, workmates, neighbours and kin). Their findings challenge pessimistic views about the decline of civic society, demonstrating that in their personal lives at least most people (with important exceptions) have access to robust networks of some kind or another – many of which are indeed communities rather than largely atomized and individualized social ties. Dale Southerton in Chapter 7 extends this theme by examining social networks and social capital within the setting of a New Town community, He focuses on the role both play in shaping the spare time practices of working class and middle class couples. Southerton demonstrates that access to different types of capital will influence styles of interaction and participation within social networks. The chapters by Morrow, Pahl and Spencer, and Southerton, are all based upon different kinds of qualitative research. Pearl Dykstra, in Chapter 8, provides a quantitative study from the Netherlands looking at the consequences for network formation of diversity in marital histories. She examines the extent to which people are engaging in partnerships other than marriage, and the implications of this for involvement in social ties and the experience of feelings such as loneliness and access to close relationships.
To complete the empirical studies, two chapters consider social networks from the perspective of people living in areas of high social and economic deprivation. In Chapter 9 Vicky Cattell explores the dynamics between poverty and exclusion on the one side, and neighbourhood, and health and well-being on the other. Her research considers neighbourhood influences on networks and social capital. She notes how different network structures – dense and weak, homogenous and heterogeneous – appear to be involved in the creation of social capital – both carrying implications for individual well-being. Tom Scharf and Allison Smith in Chapter 10 examine issues about networks and social exclusion in relation to the lives of older people. They provide evidence of the multiple risks of exclusion faced by elderly people living in areas characterized by intense social deprivation. Their work also focuses on the extent of isolation affecting individuals in some settings and at particular points of the life course.
The final three chapters review different dimensions of the policy debate about social networks. Perri 6 in Chapter 11 examines the relationship between public policy and social networks. He assesses the various tools available to government for shaping individual and community-based networks and reviews the effects of such interventions. He concludes that social science has much to contribute in this area although empirical studies evaluating the impact of attempts to influence networks remain in their infancy. Much of the debate about social networks has focused upon issues concerning the changing nature of community life. Marilyn Taylor in Chapter 12 takes up this theme, exploring the different ways in which terms such as social capital, social exclusion and social network have been applied to policy-thinking in the field of community development. Taylor suggests how networks may be used to promote inclusion and secure participation within localities. In the final chapter, Vicki Nash explores ways of achieving better integration between research on social networks and the development of public policy. She notes that despite government interest in neighbourhood and community issues, research findings are often neglected or ignored. Nash concludes with a number of suggestions for developing a more integrated approach between academic research and the policy field.
The various chapters in this book bring together two sides of an important debate: the one dealing with research on the impact of social networks, the other with the policy issues surrounding inclusion/exclusion from participation in networks. By joining the two elements we hope to have provided a comprehensive overview of what has become a major area of academic and public policy interest. Our hope is that the book will stimulate further research as well as clarifying some of the possibilities for interventions aimed at improving the quality of people’s lives.

Chapter 2
Social Networks and Social Exclusion: An Overview of the Debate

Graham Crow

Introduction

The analysis of social exclusion has frequently led researchers to think about their subject in terms of the operation of social networks, and in particular the capacity of such networks to exclude non-members. Following Simmel’s analysis of secret societies (Wolff, 1964), it has become an axiom of sociological thought that the intensity of a social group’s solidarity is related to the group’s exclusivity. The strongest social bonds are found where there is a clear demarcation between ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’, and where this demarcation line can be policed effectively to restrict admittance to the group. ‘Insiders’ are bonded together in no small part by their shared identity based on the clear understanding of what sets them apart from ‘outsiders’. The challenge for policy-makers that this situation presents is to find ways to enhance disadvantaged people’s access to social networks that will empower them without undermining the supportive character either of those networks that they seek to join or of the networks of which they are already members. The promotion of social inclusion through the opening up of opportunities to participate in empowering social networks is a complex project with a range of associated dilemmas and paradoxes.
This chapter is devoted to the exploration of these issues. It will do so through the discussion of five linked propositions. These are that social networks present a methodological challenge; that diverse influences have a bearing on the character of social networks; that social networks may be antisocial; that social networks are not necessarily antisocial; and that the promotion of social networks is an intellectual puzzle and a political challenge. This discussion will draw on various pieces of published research on social networks in order to illustrate the sorts of concrete issues to which these sometimes rather abstract debates apply. It will also draw on studies of community relationships and of ‘social capital’, given that the literatures on these subjects are of direct relevance to the analysis of social networks and social exclusion.

Social Networks Present a Methodological Challenge

The remarkable impact of Granovetter’s (1973) argument about the strength of weak ties can be attributed to its simple statement of a paradox of social networks: that dense and exclusive networks do not necessarily serve their members as well as looser and more open ones. People in patterns of social relationships that are heavily interconnected and overlapping may be less well-placed for activities such as job search than people whose social networks are more disparate in character. ‘Weak’ ties may act as a ‘bridge’ in the sense that ‘they facilitate communication between different … groups and across different strata’ (Werbner, 1988, p. 178). Similar language has been used more recently by Putnam (2000) to describe different types of social capital, making the point that ‘bridging’ the gap between social groups can be just as important as the ‘bonding’ of members of well-established groups.
Harris’s (1987) study Redundancy and Recession in South Wales took Granovetter’s thesis as one of its starting points, but found it necessary to differentiate more finely between types of social network than the simple dichotomy implied in the bold distinction between strong and weak ties. Harris’s conclusion from his project’s attempt to operationalize the concept of social network was that it is fruitful to distinguish between ‘size, density, dispersion, contact and setting … in conjunction with identity and location measures’ (1987, pp. 223–4) in the construction of empirical network types. In other words, the ties that make up social networks can be stronger or weaker in several different ways, in terms of the number of people in the network, the extent to which the people in the network have overlapping interconnections, the degree of geographical concentration or dispersion of the network population, the extent to which the relations between network members are characterised by equality and reciprocity, and the impact of the broader social setting within which the network is located. The links between members of networks thus have several aspects to them, and the distinction between strong and weak ties is insufficiently subtle to capture these nuances.
The more general points that this illustrates are that social networks are configurations of people rather than collectivities with definite boundaries, and that as such they present a fundamental methodological challenge. Social networks are distinct from communities, at least as they are conventionally conceived, in that networks are not necessarily restricted to one geographical location, and the focus in social network analysis is on the linkages between individuals rather than on the colle...

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