218 research outputs found
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 \emph{multilayer network
analysis}, has advanced the study of multifaceted networked systems in many
disciplines. It offers novel ways to study and quantify animal behaviour as
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 organisation. 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.Comment: Thoroughly revised; title changed slightl
A Novel Location Free Link Prediction in Multiplex Social Networks
In recent decades, the emergence of social networks has enabled internet
service providers (e.g., Facebook, Twitter and Uber) to achieve great
commercial success. Link prediction is recognized as a common practice to build
the topology of social networks and keep them evolving. Conventionally, link
prediction methods are dependent of location information of users, which
suffers from information leakage from time to time. To deal with this problem,
companies of smart devices (e.g., Apple Inc.) keeps tightening their privacy
policy, impeding internet service providers from acquiring location
information. Therefore, it is of great importance to design location free link
prediction methods, while the accuracy still preserves. In this study, a novel
location free link prediction method is proposed for complex social networks.
Experiments on real datasets show that the precision of our location free link
prediction method increases by 10 percent
Layer-switching cost and optimality in information spreading on multiplex networks
We study a model of information spreading on multiplex networks, in which
agents interact through multiple interaction channels (layers), say online vs.\
offline communication layers, subject to layer-switching cost for transmissions
across different interaction layers. The model is characterized by the
layer-wise path-dependent transmissibility over a contact, that is dynamically
determined dependently on both incoming and outgoing transmission layers. We
formulate an analytical framework to deal with such path-dependent
transmissibility and demonstrate the nontrivial interplay between the
multiplexity and spreading dynamics, including optimality. It is shown that the
epidemic threshold and prevalence respond to the layer-switching cost
non-monotonically and that the optimal conditions can change in abrupt
non-analytic ways, depending also on the densities of network layers and the
type of seed infections. Our results elucidate the essential role of
multiplexity that its explicit consideration should be crucial for realistic
modeling and prediction of spreading phenomena on multiplex social networks in
an era of ever-diversifying social interaction layers.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure
Hidden geometric correlations in real multiplex networks
Real networks often form interacting parts of larger and more complex
systems. Examples can be found in different domains, ranging from the Internet
to structural and functional brain networks. Here, we show that these multiplex
systems are not random combinations of single network layers. Instead, they are
organized in specific ways dictated by hidden geometric correlations between
the individual layers. We find that these correlations are strong in different
real multiplexes, and form a key framework for answering many important
questions. Specifically, we show that these geometric correlations facilitate:
(i) the definition and detection of multidimensional communities, which are
sets of nodes that are simultaneously similar in multiple layers; (ii) accurate
trans-layer link prediction, where connections in one layer can be predicted by
observing the hidden geometric space of another layer; and (iii) efficient
targeted navigation in the multilayer system using only local knowledge, which
outperforms navigation in the single layers only if the geometric correlations
are sufficiently strong. Our findings uncover fundamental organizing principles
behind real multiplexes and can have important applications in diverse domains.Comment: Supplementary Materials available at
http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v12/n11/extref/nphys3812-s1.pd
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