Heather Rackin

Collective resources in the repopulation of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina

Most disaster researchers believe that collective resources can help recovery, but there has been little quantitative research because data are scarce. We investigate the contribution of civic engagement and social networks to repopulation in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (2005), also taking into account storm damage and individual resources like income, race, female-headed households, and age. We conducted a large (N = 5729) representative survey in Greater New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina that contains extensive measures of collective resources. We aggregated these data to the census tract level and merged them with government data on repopulation and demographic factors. Our analyses show that civic engagement encouraged repopulation, though its effects faded over time. Social networks had an effect at the zero order, but were insignificant when damage was controlled. Damage had the largest, negative, effect on repopulation. Individual resources affected repopulation at the zero order, but when damage was controlled, only income and age had an effect.

Has the Internet Reduced Friendship? Scientific Relationships in Ghana, Kenya, and India, 1994-2010:

Has the Internet changed the pattern of social relations? More specifically, have social relations undergone any systematic change during the recent widespread diffusion of new communications technology? This question is addressed using a unique longitudinal survey that bookends the entire period of Internet diffusion in two African nations and one Indian state. We analyze data on nine professional linkages reported by a population of agricultural and environmental scientists in Kenya, Ghana, and Kerala over a sixteen-year period (1994-2010). Factor analysis reveals two clusters of relationships, one interpretable as traditional scientific exchange, the other indicating mediated forms of collaboration. While collaboration increases in frequency, friendship declines. We interpret this shift as a consequence of communications technology that facilitates formal projects, reducing the affective dimension of professional association.

Network Decline in the Internet Era: Evidence from Ghana, Kenya, and India, 1994-2010

Abstract Has the size of personal networks changed since the invention of the Internet? We use a unique longitudinal survey during the primary period of Internet diffusion in Africa and Asia to address three questions. First, has the overall size of professional networks changed? Second, has there been a shift in the kinds of relationships people maintain? Third, are there identifiable patterns in the nature of the shifts over time? We analyze data on nine professional linkages reported by a population of scientists and educators in Kenya, Ghana, and the Indian State of Kerala over a sixteen year period (1994-2010). Results show that extended personal networks experienced a dramatic decline during the initial diffusion of new communication technologies, followed by partial recovery. An increase in collaboration has been accompanied by a decline in friendship.