Sawmill

Description

The Sawmill Dataset

Background

This is a communication network within a
small enterprise: a sawmill. All employees
were asked to indicate the frequency with
which they discussed work matters with each
of their colleagues on a five-point scale
ranging from less than once a week to several
times a day. Two employees were linked in the
communication network if they rated their contact
as three or more. We do not know whether both
employees had to rate their tie in this way or
that at least one employee had to indicate a
strength of three or more.

In the sawmill, the employees are Spanish-speaking (H) or English- speaking (E), which, of course, is relevant to their communication. The sawmill contains two main sections: the mill (M), where tree trunks are sawn into logs, and the planer section (P), where logs are planed. Then there is a yard (Y) where two employees are working, and some managers and additional officials. Vertex labels indicate the ethnicity and the type of work of each employee, e.g. HP-10 is an Hispanic (H) working in the planer section (P).

References

• J.H. Michael & J.G. Massey, 'Modeling the communication network in a sawmill' (Forest Products Journal, 47 (1997), 25-30).
• W. de Nooy, A. Mrvar, & V. Batagelj, Exploratory Social Network Analysis with Pajek (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004), Chapter 6.

History

• Original author: Judd H. Michael (Associate Professor, Wood Products Business Management, School of Forest Resources, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA 16802; jhm104@psu.edu ; University Park 0305, Forest Resource Lab University Park, PA 16802).
• Data compiled into Pajek data files by W. de Nooy, 2001.