Position Method

Examples of Position Method in the following topics:

• Levinson

  • Levinson was one of the founders of the field of positive adult development.
  • Positive adult development is one of the four major forms of adult developmental study.
  • Positive adult developmental processes are divided into the following six areas of study:
  • Research shows that positive development does still occur during adulthood.
  • These methods are used in organizational and educational setting.

• The Standard View of the Scientific Method

  • The process by which knowledge is acquired is often called the "scientific method. " There are several variations of the way in which the scientific method are characterized, but the steps usually are:
  • The first step in the so-called scientific method requires an integration of positive and normative issues (normative and positive aspects of economics was discussed under the section on Milton Friedman).
  • If my shoes do not hurt my feet (a positive statement), I probably don't think about my shoes.
  • If my shoes hurt my feet (a positive statement) and I think they shouldn't hurt my feet (a normative statement), I recognize a problem.
  • If there is unemployment (positive statement) and believe there should be unemployment (normative statement), a problem is not recognized.

• Introduction to finding equivalence Sets

  • One approach to binary data, "all permutations," (Network>Roles & Positions>Automorphic>All Permutations) literally compares every possible swapping of nodes to find isomorphic graphs.
  • An alternative approach with the same intent ("optimization by tabu search") (Network>Roles & Positions>Exact>Optimization) can much more quickly sort nodes into a user-defined number of partitions in such a way as to maximize automorphic equivalence.
  • For larger data sets, and where we are willing to entertain the idea that two sub-structures can be "almost" equivalent, optimization is a very useful method.
  • The "equivalence of distances" method (Network>Roles & Positions>Automorphic>MaxSim) produces measures of the degree of automorphic equivalence for each pair of nodes, which can be examined by clustering and scaling methods to identify approximate classes.
  • This method can also be applied to binary data by first turning binary adjacency into some measure of graph distance (usually, geodesic distance).

• Defining the Payback Method

  • The payback method is a method of evaluating a project by measuring the time it will take to recover the initial investment.
  • The payback method is considered a method of analysis with serious limitations and qualifications for its use, because it does not account for the time value of money, risk, financing or other important considerations, such as opportunity cost.
  • The payback method does not specify any required comparison to other investments or even to not making an investment .
  • Accumulate by year until cumulative cash flow is a positive number, which will be the payback year.
  • The payback method is a simple way to evaluate the number of years or months it takes to return the initial investment.

• Crystallographic Analysis

  • The field has greatly advanced with the development of x-ray diffraction methods, where the matter analyzed is usually in its crystal form.
  • Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and x-ray crystallography have become the methods of choice for understanding three-dimensional protein structures.
  • X-ray crystallography is the primary method for determining the molecular conformation of biological macromolecules, particularly proteins and nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA.
  • Neutron crystallography is often used to help refine structures obtained by x-ray methods or to solve a specific bond; the methods are often viewed as complementary, as x-rays are sensitive to electron positions and scatter most strongly off heavy atoms, while neutrons are sensitive to nucleus positions and scatter strongly off many light isotopes, including hydrogen and deuterium.
  • Distinguish between the three methods of crystallography: X-ray, neturon and electron crystallography

• Approaches to network positions and social roles

  • Because "positions" or "roles" or "social categories" are defined by "relations" among actors, we can identify and empirically define social positions using network data.
  • In an intuitive way, we would say that two actors have the same "position" or "role" to the extent that their pattern of relationships with other actors is the same.
  • Social network data analytic methods are of little use in answering these conceptual questions.
  • The second problem with our intuitive definition of a "role" or "position" is this: assuming that I have a set of actors and a set of relations that make sense for studying a particular question, what do I mean that actors who share the same position are similar in their pattern of relationships or ties?
  • These are the issues where there are some ways in which widely used methods can provide guidance.

• Introduction to Power

  • You receive a proposal to evaluate a new method of teaching high-school algebra.
  • The research plan is to compare the achievement of students taught by the new method with the achievement of students taught by the traditional method.
  • The proposal contains good theoretical arguments why the new method should be superior and the proposed methodology is sound.
  • In addition to these positive elements, there is one important question still to be answered: Does the experiment have a high probability of providing strong evidence that the new method is better than the standard method if, in fact, the new method is actually better?
  • In terms of our example, it is the probability that given there is a difference between the population means of the new method and the standard method, the sample means will be significantly different.

• Managing Stress Through Conventional and Alternative Medicine

  • Conventional methods of stress management are most popular in the Western world.
  • These methods are called conventional because most people are familiar with them and their effects on stress.
  • Some conventional methods of reducing stress include psychiatric therapy and anxiety-reducing medications.
  • These methods tend to focus on the person experiencing stress, providing methods for mental reframing or management.
  • Individuals focus on the nature of thought and stress, and are encouraged to develop heightened security and positive thinking when it comes to stressful situations.

• Disadvantages of the Payback Method

  • The payback period is considered a method of analysis with serious limitations and qualifications for its use, because it does not account for the time value of money, risk, financing, or other important considerations, such as the opportunity cost.
  • Thus, one project may be more valuable than another based on future cash flows, but the payback method does not capture this.
  • Then the cumulative positive cash flows are determined for each period.
  • The modified payback period is calculated as the moment in which the cumulative positive cash flow exceeds the total cash outflow.

• Summary

  • Power arises from occupying advantageous positions in networks of relations.
  • In more complex and larger networks, there can be considerable disjuncture between these characteristics of a position-- so that an actor may be located in a position that is advantageous in some ways, and disadvantageous in others.
  • The question of how structural position confers power remains a topic of active research and considerable debate.
  • In the last chapter and this one, we have emphasized that social network analysis methods give us, at the same time, views of individuals and of whole populations.
  • In the next chapter, we will turn our attention to how network analysis methods describe and measure the differentiation of sub-populations.