Classifying the Influential Individuals in Multi-Layer Social Networks

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-32
Author(s):  
Ruchi Mittal ◽  
M.P.S Bhatia
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Information Diffusion ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Centrality Measures ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Modes Of Interaction ◽  
Source Of Information

Nowadays, social media is one of the popular modes of interaction and information diffusion. It is commonly found that the main source of information diffusion is done by some entities and such entities are also called as influencers. An influencer is an entity or individual who has the ability to influence others because of his/her relationship or connection with his/her audience. In this article, we propose a methodology to classify influencers from multi-layer social networks. A multi-layer social network is the same as a single layer social network depict that it includes multiple properties of a node and modeled them into multiple layers. The proposed methodology is a fusion of machine learning techniques (SVM, neural networks and so on) with centrality measures. We demonstrate the proposed algorithm on some real-life networks to validate the effectiveness of the approach in multi-layer systems.

scholarly journals Predicting Politician’s Supporters’ Network on Twitter Using Social Network Analysis and Semantic Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Asif Khan ◽  
Huaping Zhang ◽  
Jianyun Shang ◽  
Nada Boudjellal ◽  
Arshad Ahmad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Information Diffusion ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Political Leader ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Social Media Networks ◽  
Learning Techniques

Politics is one of the hottest and most commonly mentioned and viewed topics on social media networks nowadays. Microblogging platforms like Twitter and Weibo are widely used by many politicians who have a huge number of followers and supporters on those platforms. It is essential to study the supporters’ network of political leaders because it can help in decision making when predicting their political futures. This study focuses on the supporters’ network of three famous political leaders of Pakistan, namely, Imran Khan (IK), Maryam Nawaz Sharif (MNS), and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (BBZ). This is done using social network analysis and semantic analysis. The proposed method (1) detects and removes fake supporter(s), (2) mines communities in the politicians’ social network(s), (3) investigates the supporters’ reply network for conversations between supporters about each leader, and, finally, (4) analyses the retweet network for information diffusion of each political leader. Furthermore, sentiment analysis of the supporters of politicians is done using machine learning techniques, which ultimately predicted and revealed the strongest supporter network(s) among the three political leaders. Analysis of this data reveals that as of October 2017 (1) IK was the most renowned of the three politicians and had the strongest supporter’s community while using Twitter in a very controlled manner, (2) BBZ had the weakest supporters’ network on Twitter, and (3) the supporters of the political leaders in Pakistan are flexible on Twitter, communicating with each other, and that any group of supporters has a low level of isolation.

scholarly journals Experiencing the Detection of Radicalized Criminals on Facebook Social Network and Data-related Issues

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Tundis ◽  
Leon Böck ◽  
Victoria Stanilescu ◽  
Max Mühlhäuser
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
Data Availability ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Public Dataset

Online social networks (OSNs) represent powerful digital tools to communicate and quickly disseminate information in a non-official way. As they are freely accessible and easy to use, criminals abuse of them for achieving their purposes, for example, by spreading propaganda and radicalising people. Unfortunately, due to their vast usage, it is not always trivial to identify criminals using them unlawfully. Machine learning techniques have shown benefits in problem solving belonging to different application domains, when, due to the huge dimension in terms of data and variables to consider, it is not feasible their manual assessment. However, since the OSNs domain is relatively young, a variety of issues related to data availability makes it difficult to apply and immediately benefit from such techniques, in supporting the detection of criminals on OSNs. In this perspective, this paper wants to share the experience conducted in using a public dataset containing information related to criminals in order to both (i) extract specific features and to build a model for the detection of terrorists on Facebook social network, and (ii) to highlight the current limits. The research methodology as well as the gathered results are fully presented and then the data-related issues, emerged from this experience, are discussed. .

scholarly journals Effectiveness of the Execution and Prevention of Metric-Based Adversarial Attacks on Social Network Data †

Information ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 306
Author(s):  
Nikolaus Nova Parulian ◽  
Tiffany Lu ◽  
Shubhanshu Mishra ◽  
Mihai Avram ◽  
Jana Diesner
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Information Diffusion ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Target Function ◽  
Centrality Measures ◽  
Network Data ◽  
Social Network Data ◽  
Empirical Networks ◽  
The Impact

Observed social networks are often considered as proxies for underlying social networks. The analysis of observed networks oftentimes involves the identification of influential nodes via various centrality measures. This paper brings insights from research on adversarial attacks on machine learning systems to the domain of social networks by studying strategies by which an adversary can minimally perturb the observed network structure to achieve their target function of modifying the ranking of a target node according to centrality measures. This can represent the attempt of an adversary to boost or demote the degree to which others perceive individual nodes as influential or powerful. We study the impact of adversarial attacks on targets and victims, and identify metric-based security strategies to mitigate such attacks. We conduct a series of controlled experiments on synthetic network data to identify attacks that allow the adversary to achieve their objective with a single move. We then replicate the experiments with empirical network data. We run our experiments on common network topologies and use common centrality measures. We identify a small set of moves that result in the adversary achieving their objective. This set is smaller for decreasing centrality measures than for increasing them. For both synthetic and empirical networks, we observe that larger networks are less prone to adversarial attacks than smaller ones. Adversarial moves have a higher impact on cellular and small-world networks, while random and scale-free networks are harder to perturb. Also, empirical networks are harder to attack than synthetic networks. Using correlation analysis on our experimental results, we identify how combining measures with low correlation can aid in reducing the effectiveness of adversarial moves. Our results also advance the knowledge about the robustness of centrality measures to network perturbations. The notion of changing social network data to yield adversarial outcomes has practical implications, e.g., for information diffusion on social media, influence and power dynamics in social systems, and developing solutions to improving network security.

Machine Learning Based Assembly of Fragments of Ancient Papyrus

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Roy Abitbol ◽  
Ilan Shimshoni ◽  
Jonathan Ben-Dov
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Automated Classification ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Test Batch ◽  
Validation Set ◽  
Local Edge

The task of assembling fragments in a puzzle-like manner into a composite picture plays a significant role in the field of archaeology as it supports researchers in their attempt to reconstruct historic artifacts. In this article, we propose a method for matching and assembling pairs of ancient papyrus fragments containing mostly unknown scriptures. Papyrus paper is manufactured from papyrus plants and therefore portrays typical thread patterns resulting from the plant’s stems. The proposed algorithm is founded on the hypothesis that these thread patterns contain unique local attributes such that nearby fragments show similar patterns reflecting the continuations of the threads. We posit that these patterns can be exploited using image processing and machine learning techniques to identify matching fragments. The algorithm and system which we present support the quick and automated classification of matching pairs of papyrus fragments as well as the geometric alignment of the pairs against each other. The algorithm consists of a series of steps and is based on deep-learning and machine learning methods. The first step is to deconstruct the problem of matching fragments into a smaller problem of finding thread continuation matches in local edge areas (squares) between pairs of fragments. This phase is solved using a convolutional neural network ingesting raw images of the edge areas and producing local matching scores. The result of this stage yields very high recall but low precision. Thus, we utilize these scores in order to conclude about the matching of entire fragments pairs by establishing an elaborate voting mechanism. We enhance this voting with geometric alignment techniques from which we extract additional spatial information. Eventually, we feed all the data collected from these steps into a Random Forest classifier in order to produce a higher order classifier capable of predicting whether a pair of fragments is a match. Our algorithm was trained on a batch of fragments which was excavated from the Dead Sea caves and is dated circa the 1st century BCE. The algorithm shows excellent results on a validation set which is of a similar origin and conditions. We then tried to run the algorithm against a real-life set of fragments for which we have no prior knowledge or labeling of matches. This test batch is considered extremely challenging due to its poor condition and the small size of its fragments. Evidently, numerous researchers have tried seeking matches within this batch with very little success. Our algorithm performance on this batch was sub-optimal, returning a relatively large ratio of false positives. However, the algorithm was quite useful by eliminating 98% of the possible matches thus reducing the amount of work needed for manual inspection. Indeed, experts that reviewed the results have identified some positive matches as potentially true and referred them for further investigation.

scholarly journals Taking sociality seriously: the structure of multi-dimensional social networks as a source of information for individuals

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1599) ◽  
pp. 2108-2118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise Barrett ◽  
S. Peter Henzi ◽  
David Lusseau
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Life ◽  
The Other ◽  
Feedback Process ◽  
Cognitive Evolution ◽  
Systems Approaches ◽  
Entropy Measures ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Source Of Information

Understanding human cognitive evolution, and that of the other primates, means taking sociality very seriously. For humans, this requires the recognition of the sociocultural and historical means by which human minds and selves are constructed, and how this gives rise to the reflexivity and ability to respond to novelty that characterize our species. For other, non-linguistic, primates we can answer some interesting questions by viewing social life as a feedback process, drawing on cybernetics and systems approaches and using social network neo-theory to test these ideas. Specifically, we show how social networks can be formalized as multi-dimensional objects, and use entropy measures to assess how networks respond to perturbation. We use simulations and natural ‘knock-outs’ in a free-ranging baboon troop to demonstrate that changes in interactions after social perturbations lead to a more certain social network, in which the outcomes of interactions are easier for members to predict. This new formalization of social networks provides a framework within which to predict network dynamics and evolution, helps us highlight how human and non-human social networks differ and has implications for theories of cognitive evolution.

scholarly journals Retweet Prediction Based on User Behavior

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syeda Nadia Firdaus
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Prediction Model ◽  
Matrix Factorization ◽  
Information Diffusion ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Past Research ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact

Social network is a hot topic of interest for researchers in the field of computer science in recent years. These social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram play an important role in information diffusion. Social network data are created by its users. Users’ online activities and behavior have been studied in various past research efforts in order to get a better understanding on how information is diffused on social networks. In this study, we focus on Twitter and we explore the impact of user behavior on their retweet activity. To represent a user’s behavior for predicting their retweet decision, we introduce 10-dimentional emotion and 35-dimensional personality related features. We consider the difference of a user being an author and a retweeter in terms of their behaviors, and propose a machine learning based retweet prediction model considering this difference. We also propose two approaches for matrix factorization retweet prediction model which learns the latent relation between users and tweets to predict the user’s retweet decision. In the experiment, we have tested our proposed models. We find that models based on user behavior related features provide good improvement (3% - 6% in terms of F1- score) over baseline models. By only considering user’s behavior as a retweeter, the data processing time is reduced while the prediction accuracy is comparable to the case when both retweeting and posting behaviors are considered. In the proposed matrix factorization models, we include tweet features into the basic factorization model through newly defined regularization terms and improve the performance by 3% - 4% in terms of F1-score. Finally, we compare the performance of machine learning and matrix factorization models for retweet prediction and find that none of the models is superior to the other in all occasions. Therefore, different models should be used depending on how prediction results will be used. Machine learning model is preferable when a model’s performance quality is important such as for tweet re-ranking and tweet recommendation. Matrix factorization is a preferred option when model’s positive retweet prediction capability is more important such as for marketing campaign and finding potential retweeters.

scholarly journals Retweet Prediction Based on User Behavior

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syeda Nadia Firdaus
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Prediction Model ◽  
Matrix Factorization ◽  
Information Diffusion ◽  
User Behavior ◽  
Past Research ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact

Social network is a hot topic of interest for researchers in the field of computer science in recent years. These social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram play an important role in information diffusion. Social network data are created by its users. Users’ online activities and behavior have been studied in various past research efforts in order to get a better understanding on how information is diffused on social networks. In this study, we focus on Twitter and we explore the impact of user behavior on their retweet activity. To represent a user’s behavior for predicting their retweet decision, we introduce 10-dimentional emotion and 35-dimensional personality related features. We consider the difference of a user being an author and a retweeter in terms of their behaviors, and propose a machine learning based retweet prediction model considering this difference. We also propose two approaches for matrix factorization retweet prediction model which learns the latent relation between users and tweets to predict the user’s retweet decision. In the experiment, we have tested our proposed models. We find that models based on user behavior related features provide good improvement (3% - 6% in terms of F1- score) over baseline models. By only considering user’s behavior as a retweeter, the data processing time is reduced while the prediction accuracy is comparable to the case when both retweeting and posting behaviors are considered. In the proposed matrix factorization models, we include tweet features into the basic factorization model through newly defined regularization terms and improve the performance by 3% - 4% in terms of F1-score. Finally, we compare the performance of machine learning and matrix factorization models for retweet prediction and find that none of the models is superior to the other in all occasions. Therefore, different models should be used depending on how prediction results will be used. Machine learning model is preferable when a model’s performance quality is important such as for tweet re-ranking and tweet recommendation. Matrix factorization is a preferred option when model’s positive retweet prediction capability is more important such as for marketing campaign and finding potential retweeters.

A Review of Machine Learning Techniques for Anomaly Detection in Static Graphs

2020 ◽  
pp. 146-162
Author(s):  
Hesham M. Al-Ammal
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Neural Networks ◽  
Anomaly Detection ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Learning Methods ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Learning Techniques ◽  
Vector Machines

Detection of anomalies in a given data set is a vital step in several applications in cybersecurity; including intrusion detection, fraud, and social network analysis. Many of these techniques detect anomalies by examining graph-based data. Analyzing graphs makes it possible to capture relationships, communities, as well as anomalies. The advantage of using graphs is that many real-life situations can be easily modeled by a graph that captures their structure and inter-dependencies. Although anomaly detection in graphs dates back to the 1990s, recent advances in research utilized machine learning methods for anomaly detection over graphs. This chapter will concentrate on static graphs (both labeled and unlabeled), and the chapter summarizes some of these recent studies in machine learning for anomaly detection in graphs. This includes methods such as support vector machines, neural networks, generative neural networks, and deep learning methods. The chapter will reflect the success and challenges of using these methods in the context of graph-based anomaly detection.

scholarly journals Understanding attribute and social circle correlation in social networks

2019 ◽  
pp. 1228-1242
Author(s):  
PRANAV NERURKAR ◽  
MADHAV CHANDANE ◽  
SUNIL BHIRUD
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Online Social Network ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Coarse Grained ◽  
Unified Framework ◽  
Community Discovery ◽  
Social Circle ◽  
The Social ◽  
Circle Formation

Social circles, groups, lists, etc. are functionalities that allow users of online social network (OSN) platforms to manually organize their social media contacts. However, this facility provided by OSNs has not received appreciation from users due to the tedious nature of the task of organizing the ones that are only contacted periodically. In view of the numerous benefits of this functionality, it may be advantageous to investigate measures that lead to enhancements in its efficacy by allowing for automatic creation of customized groups of users (social circles, groups, lists, etc). The field of study for this purpose, i.e. creating coarse-grained descriptions from data, consists of two families of techniques, community discovery and clustering. These approaches are infeasible for the purpose of automation of social circle creation as they fail on social networks. A reason for this failure could be lack of knowledge of the global structure of the social network or the sparsity that exists in data from social networking websites. As individuals do in real life, OSN clients dependably attempt to broaden their groups of contacts in order to fulfill different social demands. This means that ‘homophily’ would exist among OSN users and prove useful in the task of social circle detection. Based on this intuition, the current inquiry is focused on understanding ‘homophily’ and its role in the process of social circle formation. Extensive experiments are performed on egocentric networks (ego is user, alters are friends) extracted from prominent OSNs like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. The results of these experiments are used to propose a unified framework: feature extraction for social circles discovery (FESC). FESC detects social circles by jointly modeling ego-net topology and attributes of alters. The performance of FESC is compared with standard benchmark frameworks using metrics like edit distance, modularity, and running time to highlight its efficacy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document