scholarly journals Polarized information ecosystems can reorganize social networks via information cascades

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (50) ◽  
pp. e2102147118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher K. Tokita ◽  
Andrew M. Guess ◽  
Corina E. Tarnita
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Computational Model ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Network Data ◽  
Information Cascades ◽  
Structure Changes ◽  
Social Network Structure

The precise mechanisms by which the information ecosystem polarizes society remain elusive. Focusing on political sorting in networks, we develop a computational model that examines how social network structure changes when individuals participate in information cascades, evaluate their behavior, and potentially rewire their connections to others as a result. Individuals follow proattitudinal information sources but are more likely to first hear and react to news shared by their social ties and only later evaluate these reactions by direct reference to the coverage of their preferred source. Reactions to news spread through the network via a complex contagion. Following a cascade, individuals who determine that their participation was driven by a subjectively “unimportant” story adjust their social ties to avoid being misled in the future. In our model, this dynamic leads social networks to politically sort when news outlets differentially report on the same topic, even when individuals do not know others’ political identities. Observational follow network data collected on Twitter support this prediction: We find that individuals in more polarized information ecosystems lose cross-ideology social ties at a rate that is higher than predicted by chance. Importantly, our model reveals that these emergent polarized networks are less efficient at diffusing information: Individuals avoid what they believe to be “unimportant” news at the expense of missing out on subjectively “important” news far more frequently. This suggests that “echo chambers”—to the extent that they exist—may not echo so much as silence.

scholarly journals Inequality is rising where social network segregation interacts with urban topology

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gergő Tóth ◽  
Johannes Wachs ◽  
Riccardo Di Clemente ◽  
Ákos Jakobi ◽  
Bence Ságvári ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Urban Geography ◽  
Online Social Network ◽  
Stage Model ◽  
Significant Relationships ◽  
Social Segregation ◽  
Social Network Structure ◽  
Physical Barriers

AbstractSocial networks amplify inequalities by fundamental mechanisms of social tie formation such as homophily and triadic closure. These forces sharpen social segregation, which is reflected in fragmented social network structure. Geographical impediments such as distance and physical or administrative boundaries also reinforce social segregation. Yet, less is known about the joint relationships between social network structure, urban geography, and inequality. In this paper we analyze an online social network and find that the fragmentation of social networks is significantly higher in towns in which residential neighborhoods are divided by physical barriers such as rivers and railroads. Towns in which neighborhoods are relatively distant from the center of town and amenities are spatially concentrated are also more socially segregated. Using a two-stage model, we show that these urban geography features have significant relationships with income inequality via social network fragmentation. In other words, the geographic features of a place can compound economic inequalities via social networks.

scholarly journals Balancing User Profile and Social Network Structure for Anchor Link Inferring Across Multiple Online Social Networks

IEEE Access ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 12031-12040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangtao Ma ◽  
Yaqiong Qiao ◽  
Guangwu Hu ◽  
Yongzhong Huang ◽  
Meng Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
User Profile ◽  
Social Network Structure

scholarly journals Head-to-Head Comparison of Social Network Assessments in Stroke Survivors

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-24
Author(s):  
Morgan Prust ◽  
Abby Halm ◽  
Simona Nedelcu ◽  
Amber Nieves ◽  
Amar Dhand
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Personal Network ◽  
Mapping Tool ◽  
Social Network Structure ◽  
Network Mapping

Background and Purpose: Social networks influence human health and disease through direct biological and indirect psychosocial mechanisms. They have particular importance in neurologic disease because of support, information, and healthy behavior adoption that circulate in networks. Investigations into social networks as determinants of disease risk and health outcomes have historically relied on summary indices of social support, such as the Lubben Social Network Scale–Revised (LSNS-R) or the Stroke Social Network Scale (SSNS). We compared these 2 survey tools to personal network (PERSNET) mapping tool, a novel social network survey that facilitates detailed mapping of social network structure, extraction of quantitative network structural parameters, and characterization of the demographic and health parameters of each network member. Methods: In a cohort of inpatient and outpatient stroke survivors, we administered LSNS-R, SSNS, and PERSNET in a randomized order to each patient. We used logistic regression to generate correlation matrices between LSNS-R scores, SSNS scores, and PERSNET’s network structure (eg, size and density) and composition metrics (eg, percent kin in network). We also examined the relationship between LSNS-R-derived risk of social isolation with PERSNET-derived network size. Results: We analyzed survey responses for 67 participants and found a significant correlation between LSNS-R, SSNS, and PERSNET-derived indices of network structure. We found no correlation between LSNS-R, SSNS, and PERSNET-derived metrics of network composition. Personal network mapping tool structural and compositional variables were also internally correlated. Social isolation defined by LSNS-R corresponded to a network size of <5. Conclusions: Personal network mapping tool is a valid index of social network structure, with a significant correlation to validated indices of perceived social support. Personal network mapping tool also captures a novel range of health behavioral data that have not been well characterized by previous network surveys. Therefore, PERSNET offers a comprehensive social network assessment with visualization capabilities that quantifies the social environment in a valid and unique manner.

Network Perspectives on Crime

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Gravel ◽  
George E. Tita
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Peer Influence ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Network Data ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
The Individual

Though often not mentioned by name, the importance of social networks in explaining criminal behavior, delinquency, and patterns has long been recognized in the study of crime. Theories that explain criminal behavior at the individual level being learned through the impacts of peer influences presume that the transmission of ideas and influences flow among social ties (networks) that link individuals. Cultural theories of crime work in the same way. At the community level, delinquency and criminal behavior are born among members of a community or group that adhere to a particular cultural set of norms or beliefs. The concentration of crime in particular geographic areas results when there are insufficient ties among local residents to affect informal social control in the area. Impacted neighborhoods are often described as socially isolated, lacking social ties to institutions of power that provide the investment and services needed in a healthy community. The history of the formation and activities of street gangs is a clear example of how understanding the ties among individuals, and between groups of these individuals, matter in our understanding these phenomena. Comprehending social ties among gangs and gang members and employment of social network analysis (SNA) have become mainstays of local law enforcement efforts to address the issue of gang violence. Much of the early criminological work that implicated social networks but did not explicitly acknowledge a network by name, or did not employ SNA on formal network data, did so because collecting such data is difficult at best and sometimes impossible. Though criminology has been a “late adopter” of SNA, the field is making great strides in this area. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) research program has provided a rich set of network data to explore issues of peer influence. Researchers are using carefully collected social network data at the individual and organizational level to better understand the ability of communities to self-regulate delinquency and crime in an area. Arrest data and field identification stops are being used to generate large networks in an effort to understand how one’s position in a larger social structure might be related to an actor’s involvement in future offending or victimization. As the field of criminology continues to adopt a network perspective in the study of crime, it is important to understand the development of social networks within the field. Critically examining the strengths and weaknesses of network data, especially in terms of the process by which data are generated, can lead to better applications of network analysis in the future.

scholarly journals Interactions with humans are jointly influenced by life history stage and social network factors and reduce group cohesion in moor macaques (Macaca maura)

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen S. Morrow ◽  
Hunter Glanz ◽  
Putu Oka Ngakan ◽  
Erin P. Riley
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Life History ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Interindividual Variation ◽  
Life History Stage ◽  
The Road ◽  
Network Position ◽  
Moor Macaques ◽  
Structure Changes ◽  
Social Network Structure

AbstractHuman-wildlife encounters are becoming increasingly frequent across the globe, often leading people to interact with and feed wild animals and impacting animal behaviour and ecology. Although the nature of human-wildlife interactions has been well documented across a number of species, we still have limited understanding as to why some individual animals interact more frequently with humans than others. Additionally, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how these interactions influence animal social networks. Using behavioural data from a group of moor macaque monkeys (Macaca maura), we used permutation-based linear regression analyses to understand how life history and social network factors jointly explain interindividual variation in tendency to interact with humans along a provincial road in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. As our study group spent only a portion of their time in proximity to humans, we also examined how social network structure changes in response to human presence by comparing social networks in the forest to those along the road. We found that sex, individual network position, and associate network position interact in complex ways to influence individual behaviour. Individual variation in tendency to be along the road caused social networks to become less cohesive when in proximity to humans. This study demonstrates that nuanced intragroup analyses are necessary to fully understand and address conservation issues relating to human-wildlife interactions.

scholarly journals Offspring social network structure predicts fitness in families

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1749) ◽  
pp. 4914-4922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick J. Royle ◽  
Thomas W. Pike ◽  
Philipp Heeb ◽  
Heinz Richner ◽  
Mathias Kölliker
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Parus Major ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Social Network Structure ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual

Social structures such as families emerge as outcomes of behavioural interactions among individuals, and can evolve over time if families with particular types of social structures tend to leave more individuals in subsequent generations. The social behaviour of interacting individuals is typically analysed as a series of multiple dyadic (pair-wise) interactions, rather than a network of interactions among multiple individuals. However, in species where parents feed dependant young, interactions within families nearly always involve more than two individuals simultaneously. Such social networks of interactions at least partly reflect conflicts of interest over the provision of costly parental investment. Consequently, variation in family network structure reflects variation in how conflicts of interest are resolved among family members. Despite its importance in understanding the evolution of emergent properties of social organization such as family life and cooperation, nothing is currently known about how selection acts on the structure of social networks. Here, we show that the social network structure of broods of begging nestling great tits Parus major predicts fitness in families. Although selection at the level of the individual favours large nestlings, selection at the level of the kin-group primarily favours families that resolve conflicts most effectively.

scholarly journals Social Network Structure Is Related to Functional Improvement From Home-Based Telerehabilitation After Stroke

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Archana Podury ◽  
Sophia M. Raefsky ◽  
Lucy Dodakian ◽  
Liam McCafferty ◽  
Vu Le ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Network Density ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Historical Cohort ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Social Network Structure

Objective: Telerehabilitation (TR) is now, in the context of COVID-19, more clinically relevant than ever as a major source of outpatient care. The social network of a patient is a critical yet understudied factor in the success of TR that may influence both engagement in therapy programs and post-stroke outcomes. We designed a 12-week home-based TR program for stroke patients and evaluated which social factors might be related to motor gains and reduced depressive symptoms.Methods: Stroke patients (n = 13) with arm motor deficits underwent supervised home-based TR for 12 weeks with routine assessments of motor function and mood. At the 6-week midpoint, we mapped each patient's personal social network and evaluated relationships between social network metrics and functional improvements from TR. Finally, we compared social networks of TR patients with a historical cohort of 176 stroke patients who did not receive any TR to identify social network differences.Results: Both network size and network density were related to walk time improvement (p = 0.025; p = 0.003). Social network density was related to arm motor gains (p = 0.003). Social network size was related to reduced depressive symptoms (p = 0.015). TR patient networks were larger (p = 0.012) and less dense (p = 0.046) than historical stroke control networks.Conclusions: Social network structure is positively related to improvement in motor status and mood from TR. TR patients had larger and more open social networks than stroke patients who did not receive TR. Understanding how social networks intersect with TR outcomes is crucial to maximize effects of virtual rehabilitation.

scholarly journals Social Network Structure as a Moderator of the Relationship between Psychological Capital and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from China

Complexity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Fan Gu ◽  
Yuanyuan Xiao
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Psychological Capital ◽  
Longitudinal Design ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Beijing City ◽  
Social Network Structure ◽  
The Relationship

Although networking is reported to be a job search strategy in the literature, research on the interaction between social networking and other personal resources and its effect on job satisfaction is scarce. In the perspective of social networks, the present study explored whether the social network structure, which consists of network size and tie strength, moderates the relationship between psychological capital and job satisfaction. By using a two-wave longitudinal design, we collected the quantitative data (survey of 344 undergraduate students who were about to graduate soon) from 19 universities in Beijing city, Shandong Province, and Jiangsu Province in Eastern China. Factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were adopted to analyze the data of the survey. We found that psychological capital has a positive impact on job seekers’ job satisfaction. Furthermore, smaller networks and weaker ties in social networks both render the positive effect of psychological capital on job satisfaction even stronger.

Networks and Media Influence

2019 ◽  
pp. 712-729
Author(s):  
David A. Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Network Structure ◽  
Media Influence ◽  
Social Network Structure ◽  
Political Persuasion

Citizens’ electoral choices are subject to persuasion from numerous sources, including their social networks, media outlets, candidates’ campaigns, and interest groups. Extensive literatures address the isolated effects of each source, with mechanisms as diverse as information, influence, and sanctioning driving these effects. Understanding these isolated effects is sufficient to the extent that each effect is independent of all others. However, this is not typically the case when social networks are involved, due to the feedback inherent in the propagation of persuasion across networks. This feedback implies that network structure conditions the effects of other sources of persuasion. Consequently, failure to consider social network structure in studies of political persuasion risks biased accounts of the effects of persuasion. This essay elaborates on this point and discusses its consequences for the study and practice of electoral persuasion.

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