Identifying the influential spreaders in multilayer interactions of online social networks

Veracity assessment by single and multi-source identification algorithms during the crisis

Social networks have become a popular communication tool for information sharing. Twitter offers access to data and provides a significant opportunity to analyze data. During pandemics, Twitter becomes a big source for the dispersal of unverified information. In social media, it is difficult to find the sources of rumors. To tackle this problem the authors have developed a hybrid rumor centrality algorithm for rumor source detection in social networks. The authors propose an S-RSI algorithm for identifying a single rumor centre and an M-RSI algorithm for identifying the propagations of multiple rumor centres in the thread of conversation. The proposed rumor centrality algorithm efficiently predicts the rumor disseminating possibilities in a conversation tree with the aid of graph theoretical approach. The authors have evaluated the performance of the algorithms on the PHEME dataset containing seven real-time event conversational trees based on the tweet messages. The results show that the proposed is best suitable in finding the rumor source centre with a high probability in social media during a crisis.

Identifying and Ranking Influential Nodes in Complex Networks Based on Dynamic Node Strength

Identifying and ranking the node influence in complex networks is an important issue. It helps to understand the dynamics of spreading process for designing efficient strategies to hinder or accelerate information spreading. The idea of decomposing network to rank node influence is adopted widely because of low computational complexity. Of this type, decomposition is a dynamic process, and each iteration could be regarded as an inverse process of spreading. In this paper, we propose a new ranking method, Dynamic Node Strength Decomposition, based on decomposing network. The spreading paths are distinguished by weighting the edges according to the nodes at both ends. The change of local structure in the process of decomposition is considered. Our experimental results on four real networks with different sizes show that the proposed method can generate a more monotonic ranking list and identify node influence more effectively.

Influential Nodes Identification in Complex Networks via Information Entropy

Identifying a set of influential nodes is an important topic in complex networks which plays a crucial role in many applications, such as market advertising, rumor controlling, and predicting valuable scientific publications. In regard to this, researchers have developed algorithms from simple degree methods to all kinds of sophisticated approaches. However, a more robust and practical algorithm is required for the task. In this paper, we propose the EnRenew algorithm aimed to identify a set of influential nodes via information entropy. Firstly, the information entropy of each node is calculated as initial spreading ability. Then, select the node with the largest information entropy and renovate its l-length reachable nodes’ spreading ability by an attenuation factor, repeat this process until specific number of influential nodes are selected. Compared with the best state-of-the-art benchmark methods, the performance of proposed algorithm improved by 21.1%, 7.0%, 30.0%, 5.0%, 2.5%, and 9.0% in final affected scale on CEnew, Email, Hamster, Router, Condmat, and Amazon network, respectively, under the Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) simulation model. The proposed algorithm measures the importance of nodes based on information entropy and selects a group of important nodes through dynamic update strategy. The impressive results on the SIR simulation model shed light on new method of node mining in complex networks for information spreading and epidemic prevention.

Do firms still need to be social? Firm generated content in social media

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how firm-generated content (FGC) impacts consumer brand awareness, brand loyalty and electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and how this, in turn, influences consumer purchase intention.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to test this conceptual framework, statistical analysis was carried out employing structural equation modelling.

Findings

The findings indicate that FGC has a positive impact on brand awareness, brand loyalty, eWOM and purchase intention. Furthermore, the results reveal that a link exists between consumer eWOM behaviour and brand awareness and loyalty. This study also demonstrates that company communication through Facebook and Instagram has a positive effect on consumer purchase intention. Finally, it has been shown that, regarding eWOM and purchase intention, FGC posted on Instagram has a greater impact on its users than that posted on Facebook.

Originality/value

Consumer purchase intention is increasingly impacted by the growing use of social media by companies and marketers. This changing environment has opened up new challenges. However, there is still much work to be done in understanding the full effects of FGC communication, and how this influences consumer brand perception and purchase intention.

The use of multilayer network analysis in animal behaviour

Network analysis has driven key developments in research on animal behaviour by providing quantitative methods to study the social structures of animal groups and populations. A recent formalism, known as multilayer network analysis, has advanced the study of multifaceted networked systems in many disciplines. It offers novel ways to study and quantify animal behaviour through connected 'layers' of interactions. In this article, we review common questions in animal behaviour that can be studied using a multilayer approach, and we link these questions to specific analyses. We outline the types of behavioural data and questions that may be suitable to study using multilayer network analysis. We detail several multilayer methods, which can provide new insights into questions about animal sociality at individual, group, population and evolutionary levels of organization. We give examples for how to implement multilayer methods to demonstrate how taking a multilayer approach can alter inferences about social structure and the positions of individuals within such a structure. Finally, we discuss caveats to undertaking multilayer network analysis in the study of animal social networks, and we call attention to methodological challenges for the application of these approaches. Our aim is to instigate the study of new questions about animal sociality using the new toolbox of multilayer network analysis.