The P4 of Networkacy

PromisePerspectivesPracticePotentialDmitry ZinovievDepartment of Math & Computer ScienceSuffolk University

2016

The P4 of Networkacy

PromisePerspectivesPracticePotentialNetwork science provides powerful methods and tools for data representation, visualization, and analysis. (This part of the presentation is based on the Network Literacy flyer prepared by Network Science Society.)

Networks Are Everywhere

The concept of networks is a broad idea about how things are connected and working together.

Infrastructural networks (communication systems, the Internet, the electric grid, the water supply).

Social networks (families and friends, email/text exchanges, professional groups).

Economic networks (financial transactions, corporate partnerships, international trades).

Bio/eco networks (food webs, gene/protein interactions, neural networks, epidemics).

Cultural networks (language, literature, art, history, religion)

Describe Connections and Interactions

Connections are called links, edges, ties. Connected itemsnodes, vertices, actors.

Connections can be undirected or directed.

The number of connections a node has is called a degree of that node.

Nodes that have much larger degrees than others, are called hubs.

A sequence of links from one node, through other nodes, to another node is called a path.

A group of nodes that are well connected to each other are called clusters, cliques, communities.

Reveal Patterns

Some important network properties:how the degrees are distributed across nodes

which parts or connections are the most important ones

strengths and/or weaknesses of the network

if there is any sub-structure or hierarchy

how long are the paths that are needed to move from one node to another within the network

Using these findings, we may be able to make predictions and explain network formation.

Explore Dynamics

Network structures can influence their dynamics. Examples include the spread of diseases, behaviors or memes in a social network, and traffic patterns on the road network in a city.

Network dynamics can influence their structures. Examples include the creation of new following links in social media, and construction of new roads to address traffic jams.

Network structures and dynamics often influence each other simultaneously.

Compare Systems

Various kinds of systems, once represented as networks, can be compared.

Certain network properties commonly appear in many seemingly unrelated systems.

Other network properties are quite different from systems to systems. These properties can help classify networks in different families and understand them differently.

Networks can help go beyond disciplinary boundaries.

Networks can help transfer knowledge from one discipline to another to make a breakthrough.

Visualize

Visualization of a network often helps to understand it and communicate the ideas to people in an intuitive, non-technical way.

Creative information design plays a very important role in making an effective visualization.

There are a variety of tools available for visualizing networks.

The P4 of Networkacy

PromisePerspectivesPracticePotentialNetwork science methods and tools can be used in a variety of non-Math courses. They require little training and often provide spectacular results.

Teach Networks and Win!

Many SU courses may benefit from adding a network construction/analysis/visualization module

Even the courses form a network, in the first place!

SU Course Explorer

Social Networks

Subjects:Sociology

Psychology

Advertising

Marketing

Political science

Management

Networks: families and friends

email/text exchanges

professional groups

Economic and Product Networks

Subjects:Economics

Finance

Global Business

Operation Research

Management

Networksfinancial transactions

corporate partnerships

international trades

products purchased together

Biological and Ecological Networks

Subjects:Biology

Biochemistry

Bioinformatics

Environmental studies

Networks:food webs

gene/protein interactions

neural networks

disease infections

Cultural Networks

Subjects:Literature

History

Art History

Music History

Religion studies

Networks:languages

words (semantic networks)

protagonists and locations

historical persons

The P4 of Networkacy

PromisePerspectivesPracticePotentialThe Author made networking presentations in two classes taught at Suffolk University in 2015 and 2016.

It's Here Already!

Spring 2015Fall 2016: CMPSC-107 Ants, Rumors, and Gridlocks (D. Zinoviev, D. Stefanescu)

Fall 2015: Seminar for Freshmen The Boston Theatre Scene (R. Chambers)

Fall 2016: Seminar for Freshmen Film Adaptation (M. Raesch)

Ants, Rumors, and Gridlocks

An STE course in Computational Science/Complexity

No computer programming involved

Introduces networks, network terminology, and network diffusion and learning

Othello

I had given the students the assignment of doing a scene breakdownessentially a table of each scene with the characters, props, location, time of day, and a brief synopsis of the action. This is a common tool in the theatre... [D.Z.'s] presentation was lively and insightful. The students enjoyed it very much and asked many questions. I believe it helped them to think in a more global way about the script instead of in a linear way. I hope to invite Prof. Zinoviev to other classes in the future. (Prof. R Chambers, Theater Department)

Original presentation...

Othello

Main protagonist???

Da Vinci Code

...[the] mapping visualizes/translates into another language the source text... and permits script writers to see the key aspects of a text that most likely must be kept, while peripheral nodes most likely can be dropped; as such it is a way of streamlining the process or adaptation, augmenting the methodologies laid out by Linda Seger in our textbook; ...a visual, color-coded map for students... Integrates well with an Assignment on character analysis that the students are performing over the course... [DZ's] presentation can easily be integrated into a class period. (Prof. M Raesch, CJN)

Da Vinci Code

Identify key protagonists

Identify plot lines

Associate plot lines with protagonists and locations

Original Presentation...

The P4 of Networkacy

PromisePerspectivesPracticePotentialNetwork science approach can be integrated into undergraduate and graduate curriculum in a variety of ways, and we are not the first to do this.

Delivery Modes

A short, course-specific sample module prepared and delivered by a network analysis expert (NAE)cf. previous section

A course-specific practice module prepared by a NAE and administered by the instructor

A general network analysis workshop for students or faculty

An undergraduate or graduate course in network analysis

Structure of a Practice Module

Identify topic of analysis (a network of Civil War historical persons)

Identify sources (books about the Civil War)

Read the sources and construct a network (in Notepad, Gephi or any other good tool)

Analyze the network (Gephi, Pajek)

Interpret the results (who was the central figure of the war?)

Good Tools: Gephi

Exploratory Data Analysis: intuition-oriented analysis by networks manipulations in real time.

Link Analysis: revealing the underlying structures of associations between objects.

Network Analysis: easy creation of social data connectors to map community organizations and small-world networks.

Poster creation: scientific work promotion with hi-quality printable maps.

Free download; runs on Windows, Mac, Linux

Network Analysis Tutorial

Link to Network Analysis Workshop at 3rd International Business Complexity and Global Leadership Conferences organized by Suffolk University SBS in 2013

Network Science Workshop (2013)

Full-scale Network Analysis Course

Several network analysis course syllabi are publicly available (such as Alexandra Marin's Researching Social Networks, Sociology/U. Toronto, and Dan Koban's Fundamentals of Network Science, West Point)

A collection of links to network analysis resources at Stanford (http://sna.stanford.edu/research.php)

Cheap, Accessible, and Exciting Books

J. Scott (2000) Social Network Analysis. A Handbook

A.-L. Barabasi (2003), Linked: How Everything Is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means for Business, Science, and Everyday Life

D. Watts (2003), Six Degrees. The Science of a Connected Age

D. Knoke, S. Yang (2009) Social Network Analysis

N. Christakis, J. Fowler (2009), Connected. How Your Friends' Friends' Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do

The P4 of Networkacy

PromisePerspectivesPracticePotentialThank you!

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