Suchergebnisse

We attempt to display a systematic approach for the distinction between states of equilibrium and disequilibrium in the interrelationships between nations, using as corroborative material the rapid shifts in 1956 among the various nations, brought about by the Middle Eastern situation. The psychological theory behind this approach is that of structural balance, which is pertinent in the present context to balance of power, while the logical framework involves the mathematical theory of graphs. We do not assert that this theory in its present form is predictive, but we do feel that it offers a well-organized mode of thinking which, although simple, may be fruitful. We also comment on some aspects of the Hungarian situation in terms of structural balance. It must be borne in mind throughout this article that it was written in early 1957 and that therefore the interrelationships among nations described herein reflect that time period.

An illustration of a systematic approach to distinguish between states of equilibrium & sidequalibrium in the inter-relationships between nations, using as corroborative material the rapid shifts in 1956 among the various states brought about by the Middle Eastern situation. This approach involves the psychol'al theory of structural balance, related to balance of power. AA.

Contrary to common perception and belief, most island societies of the Pacific were not isolated, but were connected to other island societies by relations of kinship and marriage, trade and tribute, language and history. Using network models from graph theory, the authors analyse the formation of island empires, the social basis of dialect groups, the emergence of economic and political centres, the evolution and devolution of social stratification and the evolution of kinship terminologies, marriage systems and descent groups from common historical prototypes. The book is at once a unique and important contribution to Oceania studies, anthropology and social network analysis

Hage and Harary present a comprehensive introduction to the use of graph theory in social and cultural anthropology. Using a wide range of empirical examples, the authors illustrate how graph theory can provide a language for expressing in a more exact fashion concepts and notions that can only be imperfectly rendered verbally. They show how graphs, digraphs and networks, together with their associated matrices and duality laws, facilitate the study of such diverse topics as mediation and power in exchange systems, reachability in social networks, efficiency in cognitive schemata, logic in kinship relations, and productivity in subsistence modes. The interaction between graphs and groups provides further means for the analysis of transformations in myths and permutations in symbolic systems. The totality of these structural models aids in the collection as well as the interpretation of field data. The presentation is clear, precise and readily accessible to the nonmathematical reader. It emphasizes the implicit presence of graph theory in much of anthropological thinking