Advancing The Science of Networks in Communities
Noshir Contractor spoke on how to enable professional networks in Naperville, Illinois on February 20th at the Chicago Collaboration for Women in STEM conference. He highlighted a “3D Approach” that focused on discovering, diagnosing, and designing one’s personal network.
At the nPOD Annual Conference on February 22nd in St. Pete Beach, Florida, Noshir Contractor delivered the keynote address on “The Science of Team Science” in the biomedical field. The agenda of the conference elaborated: “To learn about how collaborations work, we have one of the country’s experts on the topic of ‘The Science of Team Science’ giving a lecture on multidisciplinary, international collaborations, their impact in the biomedical field, and how Team Science works.”
A game called VAX! about human networks and immunology developed by Ellsworth Campbell and Isaac Bromley from Penn State University demonstrates how herd immunization can prevent epidemics. The visualization helps show how contagions can spread quickly across the human network. Concepts such as why immunization for healthy, low-risk individuals is important, why herd immunity works, and how epidemics spread are explained interactively through the game.
Play the game, read the FAQ, and learn more: VAX!
Science News blogger Bethany Brookshire applies network thinking to a recent study by Pew Research Center and the American Association for the Advancement of Science that illustrates the opinion gap between scientists and “non-scientists” on a number of current issues. She interprets the corollary demographic data as evidence of a “balance theory” and “eco-chamber” and effects in the American consumption of news. Kevin Lewis, a sociologist at the University of California, San Diego summaries this perspective, saying that: “I could write the most brilliant op-ed you’ve ever seen, but if I’m saying something someone disagrees with, they aren’t going to listen.”
Read the full article here: https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/scicurious/scientists-feather-flock-together
Read Pew’s report here: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/
One might think that targeting the network with the most users is the most successful form of advertising, but recent studies show otherwise. While big networks drive more traffic, targeted marketing in niche networks typically generates a higher return on investment. It goes to show that a better understanding of online networks can aid in the design of successful marketing campaigns.
Read more here: http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/addshoppers-social-networks-roi-2014/614729
According to a recent article in Forbes, the majority of people “spend most of their time in closed networks”. However, closed networks in the workplace, although seemingly effective for a managerial standpoint, are actually less conducive for long-term career success. Open networks promote innovation and according to this study, “simply being in an open network instead of a closed one is the best predictor of career success.”
Read more here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelsimmons/2015/01/15/this-is-the-1-predictor-of-career-success-according-to-network-science/
Ivan Hernandez is a collaborative post-doctoral researcher at Northwestern University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his B.S. in Psychology from the University of Florida, and his PhD in Social Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He is currently working on the Gates Project here at SONIC.
http://sonic.northwestern.edu/people/postdocs-graduate_students/ivan-hernandez/
SONIC Lab is proud to welcome Dan Newman, who will present a talk on January 29th, 2015 at 2:00 P.M. in SONIC Lab in the Frances Searle Building, room 1.459. All are welcome to attend. To schedule a one-on-one meeting with a Dr. Newman please schedule a time at http://bit.ly/SonicSpeaker. Please contact Nancy McLaughlin with any questions/comments.
In recent years, the spread of information over social networks has become a global phenomenon. Scientists have begun to study how information spreads from person to person, and how individuals’ motivations can cause a cascade effect in behavior. Researchers note that often “cascading behavior in a social network is guided by an entity that wants to achieve a certain outcome, for example… a political movement might be trying to guide the success of its message in a population.”
Further research will shed light on what guides the spread of information over social networks, and how individual behaviors play a role in information trends.
Read more here: http://zeenews.india.com/news/space/the-math-of-how-decisions-cascade-in-social-networks_1528658.html
The study of the network of networks, or interdependent networks, has become increasingly important. Interdependent networks are hugely prevalent especially in food, water, and fuel delivery systems. Scientists at Northeastern, Beihang, and Bar-Ilan Universities wrote in the National Science Review that the study of network of networks is “one of the most important directions in network science”.
Read more here: http://phys.org/news/2014-12-