Red De Karate

ateData from a voluntary association are used to construct a new formal modelfor a traditional anthropological problem, fission in small groups. The process leading tofission is viewed as an unequal flow of sentiments and information across the ties in a social network. This flow is unequal because it is uniquely constrained by the contextual range and sensitivity of each relationshipin the network. The subsequent differential sharing of sentiments leads to the formation of subgroups with more internal stability than the group as a whole, and results in fission. The Ford-Fulkerson labeling algorithm allows an accurate prediction of membership in the subgroups and of the locus of thefission to be madefrom measurements of the potential for information flow across eachedge in the network. Methodsfor measurement of potential information flow are discussed, and it is shown that all appropriate techniques will generate the same predictions.
THE PROBLEM OF HOW and why fission takes place in small bounded groups has long been a central issue in social anthropology, even though the small groups studied have often been described undersome other rubric, such as kinship. Fission in kinship groups has been studied from a variety of perspectives, especially those of descent theory (e.g. Evans-Pritchard 1940; Middleton and Tait 1958; Peters 1960; Forde 1964), and ecological adaptation (e.g. Reay 1967; Kelly 1968; Rappaport 1969; Nelson 1971). Another type of small bounded group frequently studiedby anthropologists is the voluntary association (e.g. Mangin 1965, 1970; Doughty 1970, Goode 1970), although seldom with regard to fission or faction formation. In this paper I present data from such a group, a university-based karate club, in which a factional division led to a formal separation of the club into two organizations.
The process leading to thisfission is analyzed using a new model of fission, based on a social network approach. This model is a formal one, taken from the family of mathematical structures known as capacitated networks, and was developed directly from the ethnographic material outlined in the following section. The model allows the locus of fission within the group to be accuratelypredicted (greater than 97% accuracy for the data reported here). Moreover, this result is not limited to voluntary associations or to American culture, but rather is applicable to bounded social groups of all types in all settings. Also, the data required can be collected by a reliable method currently familiar to anthropologists, the use of nominal scales.
THEETHNOGRAPHIC RATIONALE
The karate club was observed for a period of three years, from 1970 to 1972. In addition to direct observation, the history of the club prior to the period of the study was reconstructed through informants and club records in the university archives. During the period of observation, the club maintained between 50 and 100 members, and its activities includedsocial affairs (parties, dances, banquets, etc.) as well as regularly scheduled karate lessons. The political organization of the club was informal, and while there was a constitution and four officers, most decisions were made by concensus at club meetings. For its classes, the club employed a part-time karate instructor, who will be referred to as Mr. Hi.2
At the beginning of thestudy there was an incipient conflict between the club president, John A., and Mr. Hi over the price of karate lessons. Mr. Hi, who wished to raise prices, claimed the authority to set his own lesson fees, since he was the instructor. John A., who wished to stabilize prices, claimed the authority to set the lesson fees since he was the club's chief administrator.
As...