CATIJ - A NEW SOCIOMETRIC AND ITS APPLICATION TO A PRISON LIVING UNIT

• NCJ Number: 19625
• Author(s): P D KILLWORTH; H R BERNARD
• Date Published: 1975
• Length: 35 pages
• Contract Number(s): N00014-73-A-0417-0001
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of the Navy
• Corporate Author: West Virginia University
• Sale Source: National Technical Information Service; National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

'CATIJ' IS THE MATRIX REPRESENTATION OF THE TAXONOMIC TREE STRUCTURE FOR RELATIONS IN A SOCIAL GROUP, ORIGINALLY USED TO DESCRIBE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS IN PHYSICALLY CLOSED GROUPS.

Abstract

THIS NEW SOCIOMETRIC TECHNIQUE, WHICH IS GENERALLY MORE POWERFUL THAN PRIOR METHODS FOR ANALYZING THE STRUCTURE OF BOUNDED HUMAN GROUPS LESS THAN ABOUT 120 IN SIZE, IS DESCRIBED. THE METHOD IS APPLIED TO A FEMALE COTTAGE OF 41 INMATES AND 11 STAFF MEMBERS (COUNSELORS AND OFFICERS) AT THE ROBERT F. KENNEDY YOUTH CENTER IN MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, A FEDERAL MINIMUM SECURITY DETENTION CENTER FOR YOUTHS. DATA FROM THIS APPLICATION IS PRESENTED AND ANALYZED REGARDING THE DYNAMICS OF SUB-GROUP FORMATION. SOME GENERAL FINDINGS ARE CONSIDERED, INCLUDING: 1) A NUMERICAL DEFINITION OF THE WORK 'CLIQUE;' 2) THE ROLE OF WEAK LINKS IN A SOCIAL STRUCTURE; 3) THE NUMBER OF PERSONS AND 'SPHERES OF LIFE' USED BY ANY INDIVIDUAL IN A COMPLEX SOCIETY TO ORDER HIS SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. A TWO-PAGE LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT MODIFIED)