scholarly journals User Preference Dynamics on Evolving Social Networks - Learning, Modeling and Prediction

Author(s):  
Fabiola S. F. Pereira ◽  
Gina M. B. Oliveira ◽  
João Gama

The preferences adopted by individuals are constantly modified as these are driven by new experiences, natural life evolution and, mainly, influence from friends. Studying these temporal dynamics of user preferences has become increasingly important for personalization tasks. Online social networks contain rich information about social interactions and relations, becoming essential source of knowledge for the understanding of user preferences evolution. In this thesis, we investigate the interplay between user preferences and social networks over time. We use temporal networks to analyze the evolution of social relationships and propose strategies to detect changes in the network structure based on node centrality. Our findings show that we can predict user preference changes by just observing how her social network structure evolves over time.

IEEE Access ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 12031-12040 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangtao Ma ◽  
Yaqiong Qiao ◽  
Guangwu Hu ◽  
Yongzhong Huang ◽  
Meng Wang ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Ana Torres ◽  
Francisco Vitorino Martins

The chapter is conceptual, based on analysis and synthesis of social network theory and e-consumer literature. Despite a broad spectrum of disciplines that investigate social networks and the interest of marketing practitioners in the consequences of social networks, there are still areas open for research into networked-consumer behavior in marketing. Based on previous theoretical and empirical research, this study examines and discusses the influence of social network structure and ties in matched dyads, recommendation diffusion, social contagion and co-consumption influence, and individual motivations to spread market information. The chapter proposes a theory of matched dyadic ties in close networks of connections as a proxy for information about the potential market that is difficult and expensive for businesses to measure or access directly.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N Fisher ◽  
Noa Pinter-Wollman

Abstract Social organisms often show collective behaviors such as group foraging or movement. Collective behaviors can emerge from interactions between group members and may depend on the behavior of key individuals. When social interactions change over time, collective behaviors may change because these behaviors emerge from interactions among individuals. Despite the importance of, and growing interest in, the temporal dynamics of social interactions, it is not clear how to quantify changes in interactions over time or measure their stability. Furthermore, the temporal scale at which we should observe changes in social networks to detect biologically meaningful changes is not always apparent. Here we use multilayer network analysis to quantify temporal dynamics of social networks of the social spider Stegodyphus dumicola and determine how these dynamics relate to individual and group behaviors. We found that social interactions changed over time at a constant rate. Variation in both network structure and the identity of a keystone individual was not related to the mean or variance of the collective prey attack speed. Individuals that maintained a large and stable number of connections, despite changes in network structure, were the boldest individuals in the group. Therefore, social interactions and boldness are linked across time, but group collective behavior is not influenced by the stability of the social network. Our work demonstrates that dynamic social networks can be modeled in a multilayer framework. This approach may reveal biologically important temporal changes to social structure in other systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gergő Tóth ◽  
Johannes Wachs ◽  
Riccardo Di Clemente ◽  
Ákos Jakobi ◽  
Bence Ságvári ◽  
...  

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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Ninghan Chen ◽  
Zhiqiang Zhong ◽  
Jun Pang

The outbreak of the COVID-19 led to a burst of information in major online social networks (OSNs). Facing this constantly changing situation, OSNs have become an essential platform for people expressing opinions and seeking up-to-the-minute information. Thus, discussions on OSNs may become a reflection of reality. This paper aims to figure out how Twitter users in the Greater Region (GR) and related countries react differently over time through conducting a data-driven exploratory study of COVID-19 information using machine learning and representation learning methods. We find that tweet volume and COVID-19 cases in GR and related countries are correlated, but this correlation only exists in a particular period of the pandemic. Moreover, we plot the changing of topics in each country and region from 22 January 2020 to 5 June 2020, figuring out the main differences between GR and related countries.


Author(s):  
Abhishek Vaish ◽  
Rajiv Krishna G. ◽  
Akshay Saxena ◽  
Dharmaprakash M. ◽  
Utkarsh Goel

The aim of this research is to propose a model through which the viral nature of an information item in an online social network can be quantified. Further, the authors propose an alternate technique for information asset valuation by accommodating virality in it which not only complements the existing valuation system, but also improves the accuracy of the results. They use a popularly available YouTube dataset to collect attributes and measure critical factors such as share-count, appreciation, user rating, controversiality, and comment rate. These variables are used with a proposed formula to obtain viral index of each video on a given date. The authors then identify a conventional and a hybrid asset valuation technique to demonstrate how virality can fit in to provide accurate results.The research demonstrates the dependency of virality on critical social network factors. With the help of a second dataset acquired, the authors determine the pattern virality of an information item takes over time.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoel Horta Ribeiro ◽  
Virgílio A. F. Almeida ◽  
Wagner Meira Jr

The popularization of Online Social Networks has changed the dynamics of content creation and consumption. In this setting, society has witnessed an amplification in phenomena such as misinformation and hate speech. This dissertation studies these issues through the lens of users. In three case studies in social networks, we: (i) provide insight on how the perception of what is misinformation is altered by political opinion; (ii) propose a methodology to study hate speech on a user-level, showing that the network structure of users can improve the detection of the phenomenon; (iii) characterize user radicalization in far-right channels on YouTube through time, showing a growing migration towards the consumption of extreme content in the platform.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-24
Author(s):  
Morgan Prust ◽  
Abby Halm ◽  
Simona Nedelcu ◽  
Amber Nieves ◽  
Amar Dhand

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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liyuan Sun ◽  
Yadong Zhou ◽  
Xiaohong Guan

Understanding information propagation in online social networks is important in many practical applications and is of great interest to many researchers. The challenge with the existing propagation models lies in the requirement of complete network structure, topic-dependent model parameters and topic isolated spread assumption, etc. In this paper, we study the characteristics of multi-topic information propagation based on the data collected from Sina Weibo, one of the most popular microblogging services in China. We find that the daily total amount of user resources is finite and users’ attention transfers from one topic to another. This shows evidence on the competitions between multiple dynamical topics. According to these empirical observations, we develop a competition-based multi-topic information propagation model without social network structure. This model is built based on general mechanisms of resource competitions, i.e. attracting and distracting users’ attention, and considers the interactions of multiple topics. Simulation results show that the model can effectively produce topics with temporal popularity similar to the real data. The impact of model parameters is also analysed. It is found that topic arrival rate reflects the strength of competitions, and topic fitness is significant in modelling the small scale topic propagation.


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