Download or read book Networks of Influence written by Ngaire Woods and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2009-05-14 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Networks are thriving in global politics. Some bring policy-makers from different countries together to share problems and to forge possible solutions, free from rules of representation, decision-making, and transparency which constrain more formal international organizations. This book asks whether developing countries can benefit from such networks? Or are they safer to conduct their international relations in formal institutions? The answer varies. The key lies in how the network is structured and what it sets out to achieve. This book presents a fascinating account of how some networks have strengthened the position of developing country officials, both at home, and in their international negotiations. Equally, it points to conditions which make it perilous for developing countries to rely on networks.

Download or read book Iran s Networks of Influence in the Middle East written by The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tehran’s ability to fight by, with and through third parties in foreign jurisdictions has become a valuable and effective sovereign capability that gives Iran strategic advantage in the region. Tehran has possessed a form of this capability since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, but its potency and significance have risen sharply in the past decade, to the point where it has brought Iran more regional influence and status than either its nuclear or ballistic-missile programmes. The IISS Strategic Dossier Iran’s Networks of Influence provides an understanding of how Iran builds, operates and uses this capability. Based on original field research, open-source information and interviews with a range of sources, the dossier conducts an audit of Iran’s activities in the principal regional theatres of Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, and its reach into Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. It includes an examination of Tehran’s nurturing of groups such as the Houthis in Yemen, the Badr Organisation in Iraq, Hizbullah in Lebanon and Shia militias in Syria, and details related to recruitment, weapons supply, logistics and command-and-control systems. Iran’s Networks of Influence is intended through objective, fact-based analysis to inform both policymakers and practitioners, and to stimulate debate on the wider significance of Iran’s use of third-party partners and the strategic depth they afford Tehran. The dossier also examines the advantages that Iran possesses through its recent experience of conflict, and its ability to mobilise and deploy sympathetic Shia communities across theatres. In a time of rising tension in the region, the dossier looks at how Iran might further develop the use of its partnership capability and the risks and constraints it might face.

Download or read book Bayesian Networks and Influence Diagrams A Guide to Construction and Analysis written by Uffe B. Kjærulff and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-11-30 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bayesian Networks and Influence Diagrams: A Guide to Construction and Analysis, Second Edition, provides a comprehensive guide for practitioners who wish to understand, construct, and analyze intelligent systems for decision support based on probabilistic networks. This new edition contains six new sections, in addition to fully-updated examples, tables, figures, and a revised appendix. Intended primarily for practitioners, this book does not require sophisticated mathematical skills or deep understanding of the underlying theory and methods nor does it discuss alternative technologies for reasoning under uncertainty. The theory and methods presented are illustrated through more than 140 examples, and exercises are included for the reader to check his or her level of understanding. The techniques and methods presented for knowledge elicitation, model construction and verification, modeling techniques and tricks, learning models from data, and analyses of models have all been developed and refined on the basis of numerous courses that the authors have held for practitioners worldwide.

Download or read book Information and Influence Propagation in Social Networks written by Wei Chen and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-05-31 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research on social networks has exploded over the last decade. To a large extent, this has been fueled by the spectacular growth of social media and online social networking sites, which continue growing at a very fast pace, as well as by the increasing availability of very large social network datasets for purposes of research. A rich body of this research has been devoted to the analysis of the propagation of information, influence, innovations, infections, practices and customs through networks. Can we build models to explain the way these propagations occur? How can we validate our models against any available real datasets consisting of a social network and propagation traces that occurred in the past? These are just some questions studied by researchers in this area. Information propagation models find applications in viral marketing, outbreak detection, finding key blog posts to read in order to catch important stories, finding leaders or trendsetters, information feed ranking, etc. A number of algorithmic problems arising in these applications have been abstracted and studied extensively by researchers under the garb of influence maximization. This book starts with a detailed description of well-established diffusion models, including the independent cascade model and the linear threshold model, that have been successful at explaining propagation phenomena. We describe their properties as well as numerous extensions to them, introducing aspects such as competition, budget, and time-criticality, among many others. We delve deep into the key problem of influence maximization, which selects key individuals to activate in order to influence a large fraction of a network. Influence maximization in classic diffusion models including both the independent cascade and the linear threshold models is computationally intractable, more precisely #P-hard, and we describe several approximation algorithms and scalable heuristics that have been proposed in the literature. Finally, we also deal with key issues that need to be tackled in order to turn this research into practice, such as learning the strength with which individuals in a network influence each other, as well as the practical aspects of this research including the availability of datasets and software tools for facilitating research. We conclude with a discussion of various research problems that remain open, both from a technical perspective and from the viewpoint of transferring the results of research into industry strength applications.

Download or read book Influence and Behavior Analysis in Social Networks and Social Media written by Mehmet Kaya and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-12-11 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely book focuses on influence and behavior analysis in the broader context of social network applications and social media. Twitter accounts of telecommunications companies are analyzed. Rumor sources in finite graphs with boundary effects by message-passing algorithms are identified. The coherent, state-of-the-art collection of chapters was initially selected based on solid reviews from the IEEE/ACM International Conference on Advances in Social Networks, Analysis, and Mining (ASONAM '17). Chapters were then improved and extended substantially, and the final versions were rigorously reviewed and revised to meet the series standards. Original chapters coming from outside of the meeting round out the coverage. The result will appeal to researchers and students working in social network and social media analysis.

Download or read book Actor Networks of Planning written by Yvonne Rydin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-02-12 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Planning is centrally focused on places which are significant to people, including both the built and natural environments. In making changes to these places, planning outcomes inevitably benefit some and disadvantage others. It is perhaps surprising that Actor Network Theory (ANT) has only recently been considered as an appropriate lens through which to understand planning practice. This book brings together an international range of contributors to explore such potential of ANT in more detail. While it can be thought of as a subset of complexity theory, given its appreciation for non-linear processes and responses, ANT has its roots in the sociology of scientific and technology studies. ANT now comprises a rich set of concepts that can be applied in research, theoretical and empirical. It is a relational approach that posits a radical symmetry between social and material actors (or actants). It suggests the importance of dynamic processes by which networks of relationships become formed, shift and have effect. And while not inherently normative, ANT has the potential to strengthen other more normative domains of planning theory through its unique analytical lens. However, this requires theoretical and empirical work and the papers in this volume undertake such work. This is the first volume to provide a full consideration of how ANT can contribute to planning studies, and suggests a research agenda for conceptual development and empirical application of the theory.

Download or read book Connected written by Nicholas A. Christakis and published by Little, Brown Spark. This book was released on 2009-09-28 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrated scientists Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler explain the amazing power of social networks and our profound influence on one another's lives. Your colleague's husband's sister can make you fat, even if you don't know her. A happy neighbor has more impact on your happiness than a happy spouse. These startling revelations of how much we truly influence one another are revealed in the studies of Dr. Christakis and Fowler, which have repeatedly made front-page news nationwide. In Connected, the authors explain why emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, even how we find and choose our partners. Intriguing and entertaining, Connected overturns the notion of the individual and provides a revolutionary paradigm-that social networks influence our ideas, emotions, health, relationships, behavior, politics, and much more. It will change the way we think about every aspect of our lives.

Download or read book Social Influence Network Theory written by Noah E. Friedkin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-04-18 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social influence network theory presents a mathematical formalization of the social process of attitude changes that unfolds in a social network of interpersonal influences. This book brings the theory to bear on lines of research in the domain of small group dynamics concerned with changes of group members' positions on an issue, including the formation of consensus and of settled disagreement, via endogenous interpersonal influences, in which group members are responding to the displayed positions of the members of the group. Social influence network theory advances a dynamic social cognition mechanism, in which individuals are weighing and combining their own and others' positions on an issue in the revision of their own positions. The influence network construct of the theory is the social structure of the endogenous interpersonal influences that are involved in this mechanism. With this theory, the authors seek to lay the foundation for a better formal integration of classical and current lines of work on small groups in psychological and sociological social psychology.

Download or read book Internet and Network Economics written by Amin Saberi and published by Springer. This book was released on 2010-12-06 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Internet and Network Economics, WINE 2010, held in Stanford, USA, in December 2010. The 52 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 95 submissions. The papers are organized in 33 regular papers and 19 short papers.

Download or read book The Ruling Elite of Singapore written by Michael D. Barr and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-01-17 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michael Barr explores the complex and covert networks of power at work in one of the world's most prosperous countries - the city-state of Singapore. He argues that the contemporary networks of power are a deliberate project initiated and managed by Lee Kuan Yew - former prime minister and Singapore's 'founding father' - designed to empower himself and his family. Barr identifies the crucial institutions of power - including the country's sovereign wealth funds, and the government-linked companies - together with five critical features that form the key to understanding the nature of the networks. He provides an assessment of possible shifts of power within the elite in the wake of Lee Kuan Yew's son, Lee Hsien Loong, assuming power, and considers the possibility of a more fundamental democratic shift in Singapore's political system.

Download or read book Tracing Power And Influence In Networks written by Eva Schiffer and Douglas Waale and published by Legare Street Press. This book was released on 2023-07-18 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Networks are everywhere, and understanding how power and influence flow through them is vital for success in today's interconnected world. In this groundbreaking book, Schiffer and Waale introduce readers to the Net-Map tool and provide a step-by-step guide for using it to map out networks and identify key players. Packed with real-world examples and actionable insights, this book is a must-read for researchers, strategists, and anyone looking to gain a competitive edge. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Download or read book Research Anthology on Strategies for Using Social Media as a Service and Tool in Business written by Management Association, Information Resources and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2021-05-28 with total page 1865 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social media has become an integral part of society as social networking has become a main form of communication and human interaction. To stay relevant, businesses have adopted social media tactics to interact with consumers, conduct business, and remain competitive. Social technologies have reached a vital point in the business world, being essential in strategic decision-making processes, building relationships with consumers, marketing and branding efforts, and other important areas. While social media continues to gain importance in modern society, it is essential to determine how it functions in contemporary business. The Research Anthology on Strategies for Using Social Media as a Service and Tool in Business provides updated information on how businesses are strategically using social media and explores the role of social media in keeping businesses competitive in the global economy. The chapters will discuss how social tools work, what services businesses are utilizing, both the benefits and challenges to how social media is changing the modern business atmosphere, and more. This book is essential for researchers, instructors, social media managers, business managers, students, executives, practitioners, industry professionals, social media analysts, and all audiences interested in how social media is being used in modern businesses as both a service and integral tool.

Download or read book Dynamic Network Theory written by James D. Westaby and published by American Psychological Association (APA). This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social networks surround us. They are as diverse as a local community trying to help solve a neighborhood crime, a firm wondering how to streamline decision making, or a terrorist cell figuring out how to plan an attack without central coordination. This groundbreaking book explores social networks in formal and informal organizations, using a combination of approaches from social psychology, I/O psychology, organization/management science, social learning, and helping skills. A quantum advance over conventional social network analysis, Dynamic Network Theory examines how social networks articulate goals and generate social capital at various levels. Geared for researchers and practitioners, Dynamic Network Theory is also written for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students. Appendixes include primers on designing and analyzing dynamic network charts.

Download or read book Networks Crowds and Markets written by David Easley and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-19 with total page 745 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are all film stars linked to Kevin Bacon? Why do the stock markets rise and fall sharply on the strength of a vague rumour? How does gossip spread so quickly? Are we all related through six degrees of separation? There is a growing awareness of the complex networks that pervade modern society. We see them in the rapid growth of the internet, the ease of global communication, the swift spread of news and information, and in the way epidemics and financial crises develop with startling speed and intensity. This introductory book on the new science of networks takes an interdisciplinary approach, using economics, sociology, computing, information science and applied mathematics to address fundamental questions about the links that connect us, and the ways that our decisions can have consequences for others.

Download or read book Complex Social Networks written by Fernando Vega-Redondo and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-01-08 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Publisher description

Download or read book Complex Spreading Phenomena in Social Systems written by Sune Lehmann and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-06-21 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This text is about spreading of information and influence in complex networks. Although previously considered similar and modeled in parallel approaches, there is now experimental evidence that epidemic and social spreading work in subtly different ways. While previously explored through modeling, there is currently an explosion of work on revealing the mechanisms underlying complex contagion based on big data and data-driven approaches. This volume consists of four parts. Part 1 is an Introduction, providing an accessible summary of the state of the art. Part 2 provides an overview of the central theoretical developments in the field. Part 3 describes the empirical work on observing spreading processes in real-world networks. Finally, Part 4 goes into detail with recent and exciting new developments: dedicated studies designed to measure specific aspects of the spreading processes, often using randomized control trials to isolate the network effect from confounders, such as homophily. Each contribution is authored by leading experts in the field. This volume, though based on technical selections of the most important results on complex spreading, remains quite accessible to the newly interested. The main benefit to the reader is that the topics are carefully structured to take the novice to the level of expert on the topic of social spreading processes. This book will be of great importance to a wide field: from researchers in physics, computer science, and sociology to professionals in public policy and public health.

Download or read book The Power of Information Networks written by Lei Guo and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-12-07 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The news media have significant influence on the formation of public opinion. Called the agenda-setting role of the media, this influence occurs at three levels. Focusing public attention on a select few issues or other topics at any moment is level one. Emphasizing specific attributes of those issues or topics is level two. The Power of Information Networks: The Third Level of Agenda Setting introduces the newest perspective on this influence. While levels one and two are concerned with the salience of discrete individual elements, the third level offers a more comprehensive and nuanced perspective to explain media effects in this evolving media landscape: the ability of the news media to determine how the public associates the various elements in these media messages to create an integrated picture of public affairs. This is the first book to detail the theoretical foundations, methodological approaches, and international empirical evidence for this new perspective. Cutting-edge communication analytics such as network analysis, Big Data and data visualization techniques are used to examine these third-level effects. Diverse applications of the theory are documented in political communication, public relations, health communication, and social media research. The Power of Information Networks will interest scholars, students and practitioners concerned with the media and their social and cultural effects.