scholarly journals Deep Learning Exploration of Agent-Based Social Network Model Parameters

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yohsuke Murase ◽  
Hang-Hyun Jo ◽  
János Török ◽  
János Kertész ◽  
Kimmo Kaski
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Network Model ◽  
Network Models ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Training Data ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Social Phenomena ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Input Parameters

Interactions between humans give rise to complex social networks that are characterized by heterogeneous degree distribution, weight-topology relation, overlapping community structure, and dynamics of links. Understanding these characteristics of social networks is the primary goal of their research as they constitute scaffolds for various emergent social phenomena from disease spreading to political movements. An appropriate tool for studying them is agent-based modeling, in which nodes, representing individuals, make decisions about creating and deleting links, thus yielding various macroscopic behavioral patterns. Here we focus on studying a generalization of the weighted social network model, being one of the most fundamental agent-based models for describing the formation of social ties and social networks. This generalized weighted social network (GWSN) model incorporates triadic closure, homophilic interactions, and various link termination mechanisms, which have been studied separately in the previous works. Accordingly, the GWSN model has an increased number of input parameters and the model behavior gets excessively complex, making it challenging to clarify the model behavior. We have executed massive simulations with a supercomputer and used the results as the training data for deep neural networks to conduct regression analysis for predicting the properties of the generated networks from the input parameters. The obtained regression model was also used for global sensitivity analysis to identify which parameters are influential or insignificant. We believe that this methodology is applicable for a large class of complex network models, thus opening the way for more realistic quantitative agent-based modeling.

scholarly journals Identifying Influence Agents That Promote Physical Activity Through the Simulation of Social Network Interventions: Agent-Based Modeling Study (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thabo J van Woudenberg ◽  
Bojan Simoski ◽  
Eric Fernandes de Mello Araújo ◽  
Kirsten E Bevelander ◽  
William J Burk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
Social Network Intervention ◽  
The Social ◽  
Network Intervention

BACKGROUND Social network interventions targeted at children and adolescents can have a substantial effect on their health behaviors, including physical activity. However, designing successful social network interventions is a considerable research challenge. In this study, we rely on social network analysis and agent-based simulations to better understand and capitalize on the complex interplay of social networks and health behaviors. More specifically, we investigate criteria for selecting influence agents that can be expected to produce the most successful social network health interventions. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to test which selection criterion to determine influence agents in a social network intervention resulted in the biggest increase in physical activity in the social network. To test the differences among the selection criteria, a computational model was used to simulate different social network interventions and observe the intervention’s effect on the physical activity of primary and secondary school children within their school classes. As a next step, this study relied on the outcomes of the simulated interventions to investigate whether social network interventions are more effective in some classes than others based on network characteristics. METHODS We used a previously validated agent-based model to understand how physical activity spreads in social networks and who was influencing the spread of behavior. From the observed data of 460 participants collected in 26 school classes, we simulated multiple social network interventions with different selection criteria for the influence agents (ie, in-degree centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, and random influence agents) and a control condition (ie, no intervention). Subsequently, we investigated whether the detected variation of an intervention’s success within school classes could be explained by structural characteristics of the social networks (ie, network density and network centralization). RESULTS The 1-year simulations showed that social network interventions were more effective compared with the control condition (beta=.30; t100=3.23; P=.001). In addition, the social network interventions that used a measure of centrality to select influence agents outperformed the random influence agent intervention (beta=.46; t100=3.86; P<.001). Also, the closeness centrality condition outperformed the betweenness centrality condition (beta=.59; t100=2.02; P=.046). The anticipated interaction effects of the network characteristics were not observed. CONCLUSIONS Social network intervention can be considered as a viable and promising intervention method to promote physical activity. We demonstrated the usefulness of applying social network analysis and agent-based modeling as part of the social network interventions’ design process. We emphasize the importance of selecting the most successful influence agents and provide a better understanding of the role of network characteristics on the effectiveness of social network interventions.

A Unified Framework for Traditional and Agent-Based Social Network Modeling

2014 ◽  
pp. 184-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Franchi ◽  
Michele Tomaiuolo
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Network Models ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Unified Framework ◽  
Modeling Tool ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Meta Model ◽  
Social Network Modeling

In the last sixty years of research, several models have been proposed to explain (i) the formation and (ii) the evolution of networks. However, because of the specialization required for the problems, most of the agent-based models are not general. On the other hand, many of the traditional network models focus on elementary interactions that are often part of several different processes. This phenomenon is especially evident in the field of models for social networks. Therefore, this chapter presents a unified conceptual framework to express both novel agent-based and traditional social network models. This conceptual framework is essentially a meta-model that acts as a template for other models. To support this meta-model, the chapter proposes a different kind of agent-based modeling tool that we specifically created for developing social network models. The tool the authors propose does not aim at being a general-purpose agent-based modeling tool, thus remaining a relatively simple software system, while it is extensible where it really matters. Eventually, the authors apply this toolkit to a novel problem coming from the domain of P2P social networking platforms.

scholarly journals Identifying Influence Agents That Promote Physical Activity Through the Simulation of Social Network Interventions: Agent-Based Modeling Study

10.2196/12914 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. e12914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thabo J van Woudenberg ◽  
Bojan Simoski ◽  
Eric Fernandes de Mello Araújo ◽  
Kirsten E Bevelander ◽  
William J Burk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
Social Network Intervention ◽  
The Social ◽  
Network Intervention

Background Social network interventions targeted at children and adolescents can have a substantial effect on their health behaviors, including physical activity. However, designing successful social network interventions is a considerable research challenge. In this study, we rely on social network analysis and agent-based simulations to better understand and capitalize on the complex interplay of social networks and health behaviors. More specifically, we investigate criteria for selecting influence agents that can be expected to produce the most successful social network health interventions. Objective The aim of this study was to test which selection criterion to determine influence agents in a social network intervention resulted in the biggest increase in physical activity in the social network. To test the differences among the selection criteria, a computational model was used to simulate different social network interventions and observe the intervention’s effect on the physical activity of primary and secondary school children within their school classes. As a next step, this study relied on the outcomes of the simulated interventions to investigate whether social network interventions are more effective in some classes than others based on network characteristics. Methods We used a previously validated agent-based model to understand how physical activity spreads in social networks and who was influencing the spread of behavior. From the observed data of 460 participants collected in 26 school classes, we simulated multiple social network interventions with different selection criteria for the influence agents (ie, in-degree centrality, betweenness centrality, closeness centrality, and random influence agents) and a control condition (ie, no intervention). Subsequently, we investigated whether the detected variation of an intervention’s success within school classes could be explained by structural characteristics of the social networks (ie, network density and network centralization). Results The 1-year simulations showed that social network interventions were more effective compared with the control condition (beta=.30; t100=3.23; P=.001). In addition, the social network interventions that used a measure of centrality to select influence agents outperformed the random influence agent intervention (beta=.46; t100=3.86; P<.001). Also, the closeness centrality condition outperformed the betweenness centrality condition (beta=.59; t100=2.02; P=.046). The anticipated interaction effects of the network characteristics were not observed. Conclusions Social network intervention can be considered as a viable and promising intervention method to promote physical activity. We demonstrated the usefulness of applying social network analysis and agent-based modeling as part of the social network interventions’ design process. We emphasize the importance of selecting the most successful influence agents and provide a better understanding of the role of network characteristics on the effectiveness of social network interventions.

Certain models of granular computing based on rough fuzzy approximations

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 2797-2816
Author(s):  
Muhammad Akram ◽  
Anam Luqman ◽  
Ahmad N. Al-Kenani
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Granular Computing ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Network Models ◽  
Mathematical Framework ◽  
Human Reasoning ◽  
Accuracy Measures ◽  
Lower And Upper Approximations

An extraction of granular structures using graphs is a powerful mathematical framework in human reasoning and problem solving. The visual representation of a graph and the merits of multilevel or multiview of granular structures suggest the more effective and advantageous techniques of problem solving. In this research study, we apply the combinative theories of rough fuzzy sets and rough fuzzy digraphs to extract granular structures. We discuss the accuracy measures of rough fuzzy approximations and measure the distance between lower and upper approximations. Moreover, we consider the adjacency matrix of a rough fuzzy digraph as an information table and determine certain indiscernible relations. We also discuss some general geometric properties of these indiscernible relations. Further, we discuss the granulation of certain social network models using rough fuzzy digraphs. Finally, we develop and implement some algorithms of our proposed models to granulate these social networks.

Knowledge Discovery from Online Communities

Data Mining ◽  
2013 ◽  
pp. 1230-1252
Author(s):  
Luca Cagliero ◽  
Alessandro Fiori
Keyword(s):  
Data Mining ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Network Models ◽  
Social Model ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
Growth Trend ◽  
User Behaviors ◽  
Application Systems

This chapter presents an overview of social network features such as user behavior, social models, and user-generated content to highlight the most notable research trends and application systems built over such appealing models and online media data. It first describes the most popular social networks by analyzing the growth trend, the user behaviors, the evolution of social groups and models, and the most relevant types of data continuously generated and updated by the users. Next, the most recent and valuable applications of data mining techniques to social network models and user-generated content are presented. Discussed works address both social model extractions tailored to semantic knowledge inference and automatic understanding of the user-generated content. Finally, prospects of data mining research on social networks are provided as well.

A MODEL FOR BRAND COMPETITION WITHIN A SOCIAL NETWORK

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 1457-1467
Author(s):  
R. HUERTA-QUINTANILLA ◽  
E. CANTO-LUGO ◽  
M. RODRÍGUEZ-ACHACH
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Network Topology ◽  
Decision Rules ◽  
Nearest Neighbors ◽  
Product Market ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Absorbing State ◽  
Brand Competition

An agent-based model was built representing an economic environment in which m brands are competing for a product market. These agents represent companies that interact within a social network in which a certain agent persuades others to update or shift their brands; the brands of the products they are using. Decision rules were established that caused each agent to react according to the economic benefits it would receive; they updated/shifted only if it was beneficial. Each agent can have only one of the m possible brands, and she can interact with its two nearest neighbors and another set of agents which are chosen according to a particular set of rules in the network topology. An absorbing state was always reached in which a single brand monopolized the network (known as condensation). The condensation time varied as a function of model parameters is studied including an analysis of brand competition using different networks.

Word-of-Mouth Recommendations in an Automobile Market System

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amineh Zadbood ◽  
Nicholas Russo ◽  
Steven Hoffenson
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
Random Network ◽  
Network Models ◽  
System Level ◽  
Purchasing Decisions ◽  
Eigenvector Centrality ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Consumer Interactions

Abstract Improving design in the context of market systems requires an understanding of how consumers learn about and evaluate competing products. Marketing models frequently assume that consumers choose the product with the highest utility, which provides businesses insights into how to design and price their products to maximize profits. While recent research has shown the impacts of consumer interactions within social networks on their purchasing decisions, they typically model market systems using a top-down approach. This paper applies an agent-based modeling approach with social network models to investigate the extent to which word-of-mouth (WOM) communications are influential in changing consumer preferences and producer market performance. Using a random network, we study the effects of the number of referrals for a product and the degrees of similarity between the senders and receivers of referrals on purchase decisions. In addition, the eigenvector centrality metric is used to analyze the spread of WOM referrals. The simulation results show that the most influential consumers in the network can create significant shifts in the market share, and a statistical analysis reveals a significant change in the system-level metrics of interest for the competing firms when WOM recommendations are included. The findings incentivize producers to invest in supporting their product development efforts with rigorous social networks analysis so as to increase their market success.

Modification of host social networks by manipulative parasites

Behaviour ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 155 (7-9) ◽  
pp. 671-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Poulin
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Group Formation ◽  
Network Models ◽  
Parasite Transmission ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Parasite Infections ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
Host Behaviour

Abstract Social network models provide a powerful tool to estimate infection risk for individual hosts and track parasite transmission through host populations. Here, bringing together concepts from social network theory, animal personality, and parasite manipulation of host behaviour, I argue that not only are social networks shaping parasite transmission, but parasites in turn shape social networks through their effects on the behaviour of infected individuals. Firstly, I review five general categories of behaviour (mating behaviour, aggressiveness, activity levels, spatial distribution, and group formation) that are closely tied to social networks, and provide evidence that parasites can affect all of them. Secondly, I describe scenarios in which behaviour-altering parasites can modify either the role or position of individual hosts within their social network, or various structural properties (e.g., connectance, modularity) of the entire network. Experimental approaches allowing comparisons of social networks pre- versus post-infection are a promising avenue to explore the feedback loop between social networks and parasite infections.

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