Comparative analysis of layered structures in empirical investor networks and cellphone communication networks

Empirical investor networks (EIN) proposed by \cite{Ozsoylev-Walden-Yavuz-Bildik-2014-RFS} are assumed to capture the information spreading path among investors. Here, we perform a comparative analysis between the EIN and the cellphone communication networks (CN) to test whether EIN is an information exchanging network from the perspective of the layer structures of ego networks. We employ two clustering algorithms ($k$-means algorithm and $H/T$ break algorithm) to detect the layer structures for each node in both networks. We find that the nodes in both networks can be clustered into two groups, one that has a layer structure similar to the theoretical Dunbar Circle corresponding to that the alters in ego networks exhibit a four-layer hierarchical structure with the cumulative number of 5, 15, 50 and 150 from the inner layer to the outer layer, and the other one having an additional inner layer with about 2 alters compared with the Dunbar Circle. We also find that the scale ratios, which are estimated based on the unique parameters in the theoretical model of layer structures \citep{Tamarit-Cuesta-Dunbar-Sanchez-2018-PNAS}, conform to a log-normal distribution for both networks. Our results not only deepen our understanding on the topological structures of EIN, but also provide empirical evidence of the channels of information diffusion among investors.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figues, 3 table

The Social Brain Hypothesis Thirty Years On: Some Philosophical Pitfalls of Deconstructing Dunbar’s Number

The social brain hypothesis was proposed 30 years ago as an explanation for the fact that primates have much larger brains than all other animals. The claim was that primates live in unusually complex societies, and hence need a large ‘computer’ to manage the relationships involved. The core evidence subsequently provided in support of this claim was a simple statistical relationship between the social group size characteristic of a species and the size of its brain, with humans fitting into this pattern. However, testing evolutionary hypotheses raises some challenging philosophical and statistical issues that are often overlooked, and great care is needed to ensure that we test the hypothesis we think we are testing. Here, I examine some of these challenges and illustrate the traps they can create for the unwary

Fractal structure of human and primate social networks optimizes information flow

Article describes how primate and human social groups exhibit a fractal structure that has a very limited range of preferred layer sizes. The authors calculate the size dependence of the scaling properties of complex social network models and argue that this aggregate behavior exhibits a form of collective intelligence

A critical analysis of media discourse on the South African broadband policy

Broadband Internet access promises a number of socio-economic benefits to citizens of developing countries like South Africa (SA). However poor policy outcomes of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), particularly in the area of poverty alleviation are evident in SA. This study utilizes Citation Analysis and Habermasien Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) for understanding media discourse on the SA Broadband Policy formulation process and focuses on the impact and implications of the discourse. Highlighting distortions in these discourses will enable the general public and decision makers to formulate a better informed opinion and should facilitate better understanding and decision making on the costs, need and relevance of broadband access

Fintech and the Innovation Trilemma

Whether in response to roboadvising, artificial intelligence, or crypto-currencies like Bitcoin, regulators around the world have made it a top policy priority to supervise the exponential growth of financial technology (or fintech ) in the post-Crisis era. However, applying traditional regulatory strategies to new technological ecosystems has proven conceptually difficult. Part of the challenge lies in the tradeoffs involved in regulating innovations that could conceivably both help and hurt consumers and market participants alike. Problems also arise from the common assumption that today\u27s fintech is a mere continuation of the story of innovation that has shaped finance for centuries. This Article provides a novel theoretical framework for understanding and regulating fintech by showing how the supervision of financial innovation is invariably bound by what can be described as a policy Trilemma. Specifically, we argue that when seeking to provide clear rules, maintain market integrity, and encourage financial innovation, regulators have long been able to achieve, at best, two out of the three goals. Moreover, today\u27s innovations exacerbate the tradeoffs historically embodied in the Trilemma by either reconfiguring or disintermediating traditional financing operations and the discrete services supporting them, thereby introducing unprecedented uncertainty as to their risks and benefits. This Article thus proceeds to catalogue the strategies taken by regulatory authorities to navigate the Trilemma, and posits them as operating across a spectrum of interrelated responses. It then proposes supplemental administrative tools to support not only market, but also regulatory data gathering and experimentation

A strategy for sustainable ICT development in deep rural environments

This study provides a strategy for sustainable Information and Communcation Technology (ICT) development in deep rural environments and describes a case study conducted within the community of the AmaJingqi traditional council. It investigates the sustainability of the ICT services within a rural environments, the income profile and affordability of different members of the community and the strategy formulation model. The study’s main focus is on creating a strategy to be used as a guideline for the successful development and implementation of sustainable ICT development in deep rural environments and on defining ICT Sustainability. Furthermore, the different ICT users are profiled based on affordability and access to services, and deep rural environments are also defined. Moreover, the study describes the complete composition of sustainable ICT. It discusses design science research methodology and the reasons why the method is used is motivated and advanced. The study also outlines various research paradigms and philosophies and a number of research strategies are also discussed. The literature review focuses on various policies and frameworks which have been formulated to advance the universal access of ICT services by rural communities. It also outlines some of the ICT initiatives which have failed and the reasons for the failures and what will be corrected for similar mistakes not to be repeated. The study discusses the concepts of a strategy framework that outlines the theoretical foundation of the strategy formulation model, strategy implementation and control. It also discusses the diagnostics and outlines the various strategy guiding polices. The strategy is validated, expert reviews are solicited and the strategy is revised and finalised

Leadership Skills to Sustain High-Tech Entrepreneurial Ventures

High-tech (HT) innovation-oriented entrepreneurs start 35% more ventures and create 10% more jobs in the first 5 years of operation than the rest of the private sector and drive significant economic growth across all industries; however, more than 50% of the entrepreneurial HT ventures fail during the first 5 years of operations. Guided by the conceptual framework of transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this multicase study was to explore skills used by successful entrepreneurial leaders to sustain their HT ventures in Silicon Valley, California. Data collection was from 8 participants in semistructured 1-on-1 interviews and 3 participants in a focus group discussion. All participants were entrepreneurial leaders with experience in sustaining their entrepreneurial ventures beyond 5 years. A thematic data analysis approach involved text search, content coding to nodes, and code comparison techniques of collected data to extract themes and identify relationships in the findings. The emergent 4 leadership skill themes for HT entrepreneurial venture sustainability were the recruitment of the right team, situational adaptability, market orientation, and providing innovation stimulation. The right team can resourcefully assist the leader to execute market-leading competitive products and overcome challenges in the dynamic and intensely competitive and innovative HT industry. A culture of openness, ownership, and trust is conducive to the sustainability of an HT venture. Findings from this study may contribute to social change by promoting the formation of new HT ventures, increasing job creation, reducing work stressors, improving quality of life with innovative and cost-effective products, and services in healthcare, infrastructure, personal safety, education, and communications