Search results for "social network analysi"
showing 10 items of 89 documents
Hierarchical networks of food exchange in the black garden ant Lasius niger
2020
In most eusocial insects, the division of labour results in relatively few individuals foraging for the entire colony. Thus, the survival of the colony depends on its efficiency in meeting the nutritional needs of all its members. Here, we characterise the network topology of a eusocial insect to understand the role and centrality of each caste in this network during the process of food dissemination. We constructed trophallaxis networks from 34 food-exchange experiments in black garden ants (Lasius niger). We tested the influence of brood and colony size on (i) global indices at the network level (i.e. efficiency, resilience, centralisation and modularity) and (ii) individual values (i.e. …
The effects of data collection and observation methods on uncertainty of social networks in wild primates
2020
International audience; In social species, network centralities of group members shape social transmission and other social phenomena. Different factors have been found to influence the measurement of social networks, such as data collection and observation methods. In this study, we collected data on adults and juveniles and examined the effect of data collection method (ad libitum sampling vs. focal animal sampling) and observation method (interaction—grooming; play—vs. association—arm‐length; 2 m; 5 m proximities—) on social networks in wild vervet monkeys. First, we showed using a bootstrapping method, that uncertainty of ad libitum grooming and play matrices were lesser than uncertaint…
Null models for animal social network analysis and data collected via focal sampling: Pre‐network or node network permutation?
2020
In social networks analysis, two different approaches have predominated in creating null models for hypothesis testing, namely pre‐network and node network permutation approaches. Although the pre‐network permutation approach appears more advantageous, its use has mainly been restricted to data on associations and sampling methods such as ‘group follows’. The pre‐network permutation approach has recently been adapted to data on interactions and the focal sampling method, but its performance in different scenarios has not been thoroughly explored. Here, we assessed the performance of the pre‐network and node network permutation approach in several simulated scenarios based on proneness to fa…
Robust link prediction in criminal networks: A case study of the Sicilian Mafia
2020
Abstract Link prediction exercises may prove particularly challenging with noisy and incomplete networks, such as criminal networks. Also, the link prediction effectiveness may vary across different relations within a social group. We address these issues by assessing the performance of different link prediction algorithms on a mafia organization. The analysis relies on an original dataset manually extracted from the judicial documents of operation “Montagna”, conducted by the Italian law enforcement agencies against individuals affiliated with the Sicilian Mafia. To run our analysis, we extracted two networks: one including meetings and one recording telephone calls among suspects, respect…
Network Analysis: Ten Years Shining Light on Host–Parasite Interactions
2020
Biological interactions are key drivers of ecological and evolutionary processes. The complexity of such interactions hinders our understanding of ecological systems and our ability to make effective predictions in changing environments. However, network analysis allows us to better tackle the complexity of ecosystems because it extracts the properties of an ecological system according to the number and distribution of links among interacting entities. The number of studies using network analysis to solve ecological and evolutionary questions in parasitology has increased over the past decade. Here, we synthesise the contribution of network analysis toward disentangling host-parasite proces…
A multilevel statistical toolkit to study animal social networks: Animal Network Toolkit (ANT) R package
2018
AbstractHow animals interact and develop social relationships regarding, individual attributes, sociodemographic and ecological pressures is of great interest. New methodologies, in particular Social Network Analysis, allow us to elucidate these types of questions. However, the different methodologies developed to that end and the speed at which they emerge make their use difficult. Moreover, the lack of communication between the different software developed to provide an answer to the same/different research questions is a source of confusion. The R package Animal Network Toolkit (ANT) was developed with the aim of implementing in one package the many different social network analysis tech…
Social interaction in management group meetings: a case study of Finnish hospital.
2016
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of management group meetings (MGMs) in hospital organization by examining the social interaction in these meetings. Design/methodology/approach – This case study approaches social interaction from a structuration point of view. Social network analysis and qualitative content analysis are applied. Findings – The findings show that MGMs are mainly forums for information sharing. Meetings are not held for problem solving or decision making, and operational coordinating is limited. Meeting interaction is very much focused on the chair, and most of the discussion takes place between the chair and one other member, not between members…
El clima social del aula entre los alumnos repetidores con sus compañeros a través de Agent SocialMetric
2015
En este articulo describiremos una plataforma computacional web, denominada Agent SocialMetric que simplifica al docente la obtencion, gestion y muestra del clima del aula dado por el grado y estructura de las relaciones de los alumnos en la clase, a traves de un agente de interfaz conversacional llamado Albert, con el que el docente interactua en lenguaje natural. Agent SocialMetric posibilitara que los docentes conozcan a los alumnos a traves de sus relaciones reticulares, estableciendo la estructura social de la clase. Circunscribiremos la aplicacion a un caso practico en el ambito de Educacion Secundaria y conoceremos el clima social de la clase donde hay alumnos repetidores y determina…
Influence and use of information sources about childbearing among Spanish pregnant women
2020
Background: Pregnant women create their childbirth expectations from their available information. Therefore, they should have access to reliable and quality medical information. However, the literature points a knowledge gap with respect to the sources of information used by them. Objectives: The primary objective was to analyse the most influential and widely used sources of information about childbearing in Spanish pregnant women. The secondary objectives were to assess the quality and usefulness of the information sources, to identify those regarded as deficient by pregnant women and to discover differences in information use related to parity. Design and methods: A cross-sectional descr…
Italian Amateur Pop-Rock Musicians on Facebook: Mixed Methods and New Findings in Music Making Research
2017
This chapter investigates how and why amateur musicians use social networking sites, employing a mixed-methods approach. Attention is focused on four big Italian Facebook communities of pop-rock musicians: drums, bass, guitar, and keyboard players (overall, 2,101 active users), analyzing the relational and textual data extracted from the web. The chapter analyzes the network structures emerging from the interactions among the users. It also identifies and maps the main areas of discussion (sound shaping, studio recording, marketplace, musical references, computer production, and relations) and the latent semantic dimension characterizing Facebook users’ activities, through social network an…