By June 1988, Dr. Kolenda plans to have completed the first attempts to use the Cray supercomputer to sort the marriage networks of about 5000 adult Nattatti Nadars of south India into clusters. This requires the comparison of each Nadar's network of about 150-200 scores with all the scores of all the other Nadars. The cluster analysis should locate sub-connubia (especially tigh marriage networks or breeding populations) among the 2500 Nadar families. When this data=bank is prepared, Dr. Kolenda will work with statisticians at Rice University to develop approaches and methods to exploit its possibilities. Such vast data are rare, and given the close-relative and cousin- marriage among the population, it should be a useful research population for population genetics and microdemographic studies. Dr. Kolenda will also consult with anthropologists at Rice who are specialists on south Indian kinship, India, and cultural anthropology more broadly. Dr. Kolenda will teach a seminar on "Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology" and another on "Networks: Their Theory and Study." In addition, she will give lectures on the process of her research to the faculty and students of both the Department of Statistics and the Department of Anthropology. This project furthers VPW program objectives which are (1) to provide opportunities for women to advance their careers in engineering and in the disciplines of science supported by NSF and (2) to encourage women to pursue careers in science and engineering by providing greater visibility for women scientists and engineers employed in industry, government, and academic institutions. By encouraging the participation of women in science, it is a valuable investment in the Nation's future scientific vitality.
