Local Blockmodel Algebras for Analyzing Social Networks

Roles and ways of thinking about roles have been a major concern of sociologists. One common approach to roles conceptualizes and analyzes them within networks of multiple social relations (see, for example, Radcliffe-Brown, 1940; Barnes, 1954; Nadel, 1957; Mayer, 1966; Kapferer, 1969; Mitchell, 1969; Bott, 1971; Boissevain, 1973; Laumann and Pappi, 1976). A recurrent theme throughout this literature is that the fundamental variables of interest are not particular characteristics of individuals but rather the social relations that connect