Knowledge Sharing Network and Friendship Network in Youth Sport Leaders Summer Camp

Abstract

     The purposes of this research were to analyze pattern and mechanism of network structure, homophily of camp members, as well as network bridging between structural holes of knowledge sharing and friendship network among the youth leaders joining the fourth sport summer camp in 2009. A questionnaire was employed for gathering data by free recall method out of the whole network from 3 camps, namely; Pijit camp, Sakon Nakhon camp, and Trung camp. These visualization networks analysed by Ucinet for windows version 6.221 and Netdraw version 2.08 represented relationship between actors and structural measures. The findings showed decentralized structure pattern both knowledge sharing network and friendship network. The youth leaders in every camp were able to share their knowledge in a whole group manner. The relationship characteristics were unreciprocities ties, low density of networks and weak ties as well. Moreover, homophily principle indicated that the whole networks were homogenous with regard to sex and sport activities. Analyzing network bridging of structural hole visualized that the linkage via betweeness actors enabled the camp members to have opportunities to access sport knowledge and new information from other clusters as well as create new knowledge from the outsider.