SOCIAL NETWORKS - CHANGES OVER TIME

摘要

Freshman students seldom have a structured social network of friends when they enter a university. By the end of a mere semester, however, they usually have a well-structured network of friends with whom they may spend nearly four years. The first semester is that time where their network of friends changes drastically from start to finish. In this study, data were collected from freshmen engineering students at the University of Missouri-Rolla. A social network survey was handed out to 183 students during a period of two semesters and the responses were collected and analyzed. The difference in the social networks of the students, from the beginning to end of a semester, is the focus of this paper. This study helps to examine the interactions of people with their peers when they initially get to know each other. Freshmen meet new students in a college environment, and newly hired employees meet their co-workers in an industry. In either case, building healthy social relationships is required. Similar studies on social networks done in industries can help one understand the dynamics of the employees and their relations with their peers.