79,730 research outputs found
Social consensus through the influence of committed minorities
We show how the prevailing majority opinion in a population can be rapidly
reversed by a small fraction p of randomly distributed committed agents who
consistently proselytize the opposing opinion and are immune to influence.
Specifically, we show that when the committed fraction grows beyond a critical
value p_c \approx 10%, there is a dramatic decrease in the time, T_c, taken for
the entire population to adopt the committed opinion. In particular, for
complete graphs we show that when p < p_c, T_c \sim \exp(\alpha(p)N), while for
p > p_c, T_c \sim \ln N. We conclude with simulation results for
Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi random graphs and scale-free networks which show
qualitatively similar behavior.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Recommended from our members
Gatekeeping Twitter: Message diffusion in political hashtags
This article explores the structure of gatekeeping in Twitter by means of a statistical analysis of the political hashtags #FreeIran, #FreeVenezuela and #Jan25, each of which reached the top position in Twitter Trending Topics. We performed a statistical correlation analysis on nine variables of the dataset to evaluate if message replication in Twitter political hashtags was correlated with network topology. Our results suggest an alternative scenario to the dominant view regarding gatekeeping in Twitter political hashtags. Instead of depending on hubs that act as gatekeepers, we found that the intense activity of individuals with relatively few connections is capable of generating highly replicated messages that contributed to Trending Topics without relying on the activity of user hubs. The results support the thesis of social consensus through the influence of committed minorities, which states that a prevailing majority opinion in a population can be rapidly reversed by a small fraction of randomly distributed committed agents
Role of Committed Minorities in Times of Crisis
We use a Cooperative Decision Making (CDM) model to study the effect of
committed minorities on group behavior in time of crisis. The CDM model has
been shown to generate consensus through a phase-transition process that at
criticality establishes long-range correlations among the individuals within a
model society. In a condition of high consensus, the correlation function
vanishes, thereby making the network recover the ordinary locality condition.
However, this state is not permanent and times of crisis occur when there is an
ambiguity concerning a given social issue. The correlation function within the
cooperative system becomes similarly extended as it is observed at criticality.
This combination of independence (free will) and long-range correlation makes
it possible for very small but committed minorities to produce substantial
changes in social consensus
Evolution of opinions on social networks in the presence of competing committed groups
Public opinion is often affected by the presence of committed groups of
individuals dedicated to competing points of view. Using a model of pairwise
social influence, we study how the presence of such groups within social
networks affects the outcome and the speed of evolution of the overall opinion
on the network. Earlier work indicated that a single committed group within a
dense social network can cause the entire network to quickly adopt the group's
opinion (in times scaling logarithmically with the network size), so long as
the committed group constitutes more than about 10% of the population (with the
findings being qualitatively similar for sparse networks as well). Here we
study the more general case of opinion evolution when two groups committed to
distinct, competing opinions and , and constituting fractions and
of the total population respectively, are present in the network. We show
for stylized social networks (including Erd\H{o}s-R\'enyi random graphs and
Barab\'asi-Albert scale-free networks) that the phase diagram of this system in
parameter space consists of two regions, one where two stable
steady-states coexist, and the remaining where only a single stable
steady-state exists. These two regions are separated by two fold-bifurcation
(spinodal) lines which meet tangentially and terminate at a cusp (critical
point). We provide further insights to the phase diagram and to the nature of
the underlying phase transitions by investigating the model on infinite
(mean-field limit), finite complete graphs and finite sparse networks. For the
latter case, we also derive the scaling exponent associated with the
exponential growth of switching times as a function of the distance from the
critical point.Comment: 23 pages: 15 pages + 7 figures (main text), 8 pages + 1 figure + 1
table (supplementary info
Same-sex marriage and the Irish Constitution
This paper examines the recent Irish High Court case of Zappone and Gilligan v. Revenue Commissioners and others, a challenge to the constitutionality of the state’s interpretation of the Irish Tax Code vis-à -vis the foreign marriage of a same-sex couple and their right to marry each other under Irish law. The right to marry and the nature of marriage are undefined in the Irish Constitution. Thus, a progressive interpretation may take into account contemporary knowledge of sexuality and sexual orientation and norms of equality and non-discrimination. This paper also discusses the ‘living document’ approach to constitutional interpretation and argues that the High Court misapplied the methodology of Supreme Court Justice Murray in Sinnott v. Minister for Education, which may offer the means to interpreting the Irish Constitution as protecting the right to marry another person of the same sex
African American Students\u27 Perceptions of Influential Factors for Attendance in Doctoral Psychology
This study explores African American undergraduate students’ perceptions of factors influencing their decision to attend doctoral programs in psychology. There is a scarcity of literature examining perceptions held by specific minority groups in regard to influential factors used to make a significant step toward their career development. Eight undergraduate students interested in pursuing a doctoral degree in psychology were interviewed. A semi-structured interview and two paper-pencil measures were used. Interviews were analyzed utilizing the consensual qualitative research (CQR) method. The following themes emerged: reasons for pursuing a doctoral degree, navigating the application process, factors influencing interest in psychology, perception of a program’s commitment to diversity, importance of ethnic minority representation in a program, financial concerns, family view of psychology, most important factor for attendance, and prior school experiences outside of psychology. The study found that issues related to African American representation and research, as well as the presence of financial aid, are highly relevant in students’ evaluation of which doctoral programs they prefer to attend. This information will pave the way for further studies focusing on how to increase the number of African American students in doctoral programs around the country
- …