Diffusion and Transmission

The other day in class we were discussing about “diffusion and transmission” and what the difference was between the two.

I was able to find an article that gives the definition of diffusion within sociology. The article name is “Theories and Models of Diffusion in Sociology” by Alberto Palloni. The article is very extensive but here is the definition according to his article. “A classic definition of diffusion is the following: “(diffusion) is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system. It is a special type of communication, in that the messages are concerned with new ideas” (Rogers, 1983).”

Here is the website if you wish to read the article:

http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/cde/cdewp/98-11.pdf

As for transmission it was hard to find it defined within sociology or social networks. I was able to find the definition of cultural transmission. Which if you think about it, the interaction that people have on the web could be considered like a culture. The article name is “Cultural transmission” by Alberto Bisin. Culture transmission according to the article is “The transmission of preferences, beliefs, and norms of behavior which is the result of social interactions across and within generations…”

Here is the website for this article:

http://www.nyu.edu/econ/user/bisina/Palgrave_culturaltransmission2.pdf

Dumitru