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Learning Dynamic Network Models for Complex Social Systems

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Date Issued:
2017
Abstract/Description:
Human societies are inherently complex and highly dynamic, resulting in rapidly changing social networks, containing multiple types of dyadic interactions. Analyzing these time-varying multiplex networks with approaches developed for static, single layer networks often produces poor results. To address this problem, our approach is to explicitly learn the dynamics of these complex networks. This dissertation focuses on five problems: 1) learning link formation rates; 2) predicting changes in community membership; 3) using time series to predict changes in network structure; 4) modeling coevolution patterns across network layers and 5) extracting information from negative layers of a multiplex network.To study these problems, we created a rich dataset extracted from observing social interactions in the massively multiplayer online game Travian. Most online social media platforms are optimized to support a limited range of social interactions, primarily focusing on communication and information sharing. In contrast, relations in massively-multiplayer online games (MMOGs) are often formed during the course of gameplay and evolve as the game progresses. To analyze the players' behavior, we constructed multiplex networks with link types for raid, communication, and trading.The contributions of this dissertation include 1) extensive experiments on the dynamics of networks formed from diverse social processes; 2) new game theoretic models for community detection in dynamic networks; 3) supervised and unsupervised methods for link prediction in multiplex coevolving networks for both positive and negative links. We demonstrate that our holistic approach for modeling network dynamics in coevolving, multiplex networks outperforms factored methods that separately consider temporal and cross-layer patterns.
Title: Learning Dynamic Network Models for Complex Social Systems.
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Name(s): Hajibagheri, Alireza, Author
Sukthankar, Gita, Committee Chair
Turgut, Damla, Committee Member
Chatterjee, Mainak, Committee Member
Lakkaraju, Kiran, Committee Member
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2017
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Human societies are inherently complex and highly dynamic, resulting in rapidly changing social networks, containing multiple types of dyadic interactions. Analyzing these time-varying multiplex networks with approaches developed for static, single layer networks often produces poor results. To address this problem, our approach is to explicitly learn the dynamics of these complex networks. This dissertation focuses on five problems: 1) learning link formation rates; 2) predicting changes in community membership; 3) using time series to predict changes in network structure; 4) modeling coevolution patterns across network layers and 5) extracting information from negative layers of a multiplex network.To study these problems, we created a rich dataset extracted from observing social interactions in the massively multiplayer online game Travian. Most online social media platforms are optimized to support a limited range of social interactions, primarily focusing on communication and information sharing. In contrast, relations in massively-multiplayer online games (MMOGs) are often formed during the course of gameplay and evolve as the game progresses. To analyze the players' behavior, we constructed multiplex networks with link types for raid, communication, and trading.The contributions of this dissertation include 1) extensive experiments on the dynamics of networks formed from diverse social processes; 2) new game theoretic models for community detection in dynamic networks; 3) supervised and unsupervised methods for link prediction in multiplex coevolving networks for both positive and negative links. We demonstrate that our holistic approach for modeling network dynamics in coevolving, multiplex networks outperforms factored methods that separately consider temporal and cross-layer patterns.
Identifier: CFE0006598 (IID), ucf:51306 (fedora)
Note(s): 2017-05-01
Ph.D.
Engineering and Computer Science, Computer Science
Doctoral
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): social networks -- community detection -- multiplex link prediction -- complex networks -- mutual information -- game theory -- signed link prediction -- supervised link prediction -- dynamic community detection -- travian -- data analysis -- time series analysis -- large networks
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0006598
Restrictions on Access: public 2017-05-15
Host Institution: UCF

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