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Published in: Complexity 8(1):72-81

Download the Paper (142 K, PDF file) - January 1, 2002 Tell a colleague about it. Printing Tips: Select 'print as image' in the Acrobat print dialog if you have trouble printing.

ABSTRACT:
We examine data on and models of small world properties and parameters of social networks. Our focus, on tie-strength, multilevel networks and searchability in strong-tie social networks, allows us to extend some of the questions and findings of recent research and the fit of small world models to sociological and anthropological data on human communities. We offer a "navigability of strong ties" hypothesis about network topologies tested with data from kinship systems, and potentially applicable to corporate cultures and business networks.

SUGGESTED CITATION:
Douglas White and Michael Houseman, "The Navigability of Strong Ties: Small Worlds, Tie Strength and Network Topology" (January 1, 2002). Human Complex Systems. Paper DRW2002A.
http://repositories.cdlib.org/hcs/DRW2002A