| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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They reveal that companionship is the kind of support transmitted on the Forum most often, followed by emotional support and finally informational support. The chapter ends with a discussion of the significance of these rates in regard to the study of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and social relations.
Once the kinds and extent of support found on the Forum are documented, it is possible to study the network’s social structure and its impact on the transmission of support. Social network analysis is used to accomplish these tasks in the third and fourth chapters. The first of these chapters uses a number of network measures to demonstrate the broadly bifurcated nature of the SOL-Cancer Forum’s network and its effect on social support. Members of the Forum are found to occupy the position of givers or takers based on their posting activity. The findings demonstrate the pattern of interactions between the two positions is such that the givers impart support to the takers, but the takers do not send any back. However, the kind of support provided to the takers is limited to informational support, whereas the givers supply one another with a wide range of kinds and a varying extent of support.
The second network chapter carries the analysis deeper into the network structure and explores the varied and complex posting activity of the givers. In doing so, four positions or categories of actor emerge from the givers that each occupy a unique role in the network: One category is solely composed of a star actor who provides and receives the greatest amount of support; the second contains six prime givers who provide more support than they receive; third are 10 serious members who exchange a fair amount of support with the other SOLers; and finally 15 moderate users do not receive or provide as much support as the other SOLers, but have a steady presence on the Forum nonetheless. The social structure these positions and roles create affect the transmission of social support such that those who develop the most profound and trusting relationships exchange all kinds of support in great quantities, whereas those less integrated into the network only receive certain kinds of support in lesser amounts.