UNDERSTANDING LOCAL

NETWORKS
CHAPTER 2
Networks –
• is a group of people whom we interact daily. Our relationship are
networked. If you look at nature, network are every where.
• According to Brass, 1994:42. Network is a set of nodes and a set
of ties. Nodes are the things that are connected. It might be a
person, a computer or even a hyperlinked text.
• Awareness concerning social network is important to the extent
that: *people are uncertain who is connected whom. *developing
contact and exchange of information *it provide us thr opportunity
to interact with people outside of oue regular social circle.
 ACCORDING TO KILDUF AND TSAI, NETWORK ARE ANALYZED
IN TERMS OF:
• 1. Density- The density of a network is based on the number of connections
between and among the actors. According to Kilduf and Tsai, the higher the
number, the denser the system.The density of a network depicts the potential
associations in a system that are genuine associations while a potential
connection is an association that could possibly exists between two “hubs”
paying little respect to regardless of whether it really does.

2. Hierarchy- Actors in the network can pull their investments in social relations
by establishing relations with a diverse set of groups in the community
(preferably groups that are not connected to each other), rather than
establishing all of their relationships with members of one group.
3. Complexity- Complexity is the extent to which a link between actors served a
multiplicity of interests in the community. The more complex relations have
considered have higher tie strength. Complexity also represents the extent to
which two people are bound to each other in different social grounds.
4. Interdependence- The ties in the network can be useful in facilitating change
and reform. The interdependence of social ties in a community produces
benefits for actors and members. Interdependence facilitates cooperation and
creates social capital necessary for the progress of the community. Social capital
is the accumulated benefits as a result of the maintenance of a positive
relationship between different groups and associations in the community.
5. Embeddedness- The networks of relations within each person is rooted
include family, friends, and acquaintances. To be sure, business associations
themselves are held together by formal relations of power as well as by casual
connections that interface individuals crosswise over departmental and
progressive limits.
LAYERS OF RELATIONSHIPS IN DIFFERENT SOCIAL
SYSTEMS HOUSEHOLDS
Households A dyadic relationship is the smallest unit of
a social relationship. This commonly starts in the household
which usually consists of members of a nuclear or extended
family (which is common in the Philippines). In an extended
family, a household is usually composed of two or more
families that share the same roof. Others build houses within
a compund. Extended family members and relatives( i.e.,
grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandchildren)
may also live in the same house and play important roles.
The extended family system can be a source of either
cooperation or conflict. Social practices of household
members in everyday life are loaded with knowledge.
Understanding these social practices can provide us insights
on why certain larger social issues are happening.
BARANGAY
• A local network is made of independent household relationship within a
village known as a barangay. In the philippines, a barangay is a filipino native
term for a village formerly know as a bario, it is the smallest admistritative
unit in the philippines, barangay is completely self-sufficient. Households
come together for econamic,religious, social and political activities.
• In a barangay, you can usually find elementary school, store health center and
a barangay office. In urban areas, there are more commeRcial establishments
and market places, banks,cinemas churches, private schols, and hospitals. As
a politcal unit, the barangay councel exerts political authority over the
problems involving the barangay members. The interdependence of
community life within the barangay implies that many political social, cultural
and religous issues can be solve within the household or barangay, usually
involving communal response
BEYOND THE LOCAL NETWORK
• It is easier to mobilize a whole village than a whole municipality or city because The
networks within a local unit is denser than the latter. This means that in small
Communities, relationships are tighter-people speak common languages, share the
same cultureal norms and demonstrate collective understanding of physical
environment and natural resources. Thus to deepen our understanding and response
to a network which can inform and support our collective decision and action.
Resources can be knowledge, skills and expertise within the community.
• Constraints are to be determined in order to identify the limits and practicality of
response to the problem. Although the focus of the discussion is the local network.
This chapter argues that members of a household and village which comprise a local
network are affected by issues and policies within the larger social system (i.e state
and global networks).
• In the community, there are many ways to mobilize people so many people will
respond. These responses involve utilizing local knowledge and collective strategies
in addressing social problems. Since local networks do not work independently from
the wider social networks, the community’s knowledge and experience can inform
policy makers and state leaders on what policies need to be create and how these
policies should be implemented.
THE LOCAL NETWORK AND THE INDIVIDUAL
• The local network can be observed in the dynamics of relationships among people the groups
in the barangay. The individual performs diverse ang overlapping social roles that both meet
person and social goals. Elsa story reveals her responses to the issues of poverty and luck of
opportunities of young woman.hence,our capacity to respond to the different issues in the
communities is not isolated from the various social identities that we create ang we perform.
In this situation, the family is a good source of resource where the community can draw
support ang participation.
• it is also in this unit where most dyadic and personal interaction occur.this applies that the
challenges and opportunities of a local network are dependent on the kinds of relationships
that exist within a family and the community. Response to these issues should come from
local network. It is important to consider the collective response includes tapping into the
existing form of local knowledge the reside in the social practice of community members.this
mean that response should be contextualized base on the existing resources,household
practice,and community knowledge.
• In the case study, community members are called to participate collective in developing
alternative and solutions to the issue from what they already know and have. Community
members need to demonstrate understanding of the social conditions that affect
them;through their concerted efforts, they must use their own capacities and funds of
knowledge to counter social issues
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
• Knowledge has a place of production (Bennagen,2015) for it is generated from a specific geographical
location with its own histories and cultures. For example, indigenous knowlege of raising children in the
Philippines involves our unique child- caring practices (like teaching to show respect to elders and
participate in some rituals) tied to our family- oriented value system.

Following these assumptions, Maria Luisa Canieso- Doronila describes development as :

1) placing people at the center of development;

2) developing their creative and powerful potential so that they can participate meaningfully in the entire
development process; and
3) recognizing that social development must start with how people themselves respond to the forces that
either constrain or encourage social transformation.