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Schwing KM, Pitt J. Measuring the communicative constitution of organization as network formation. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0300399. [PMID: 38593128 PMCID: PMC11003641 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
We propose a set of metrics, based upon the four flows theory of the communicative constitution of organizations, to evaluate the emergence of organization in a social network. Using an agent-based model (ABM), we validate that our metrics chart the evolution of partial organizations as the population progresses from complete dissociation to unified allegiance. Our metrics allow the evaluation of organizational strength much more efficiently than previous, context-specific methods. The simulation produces other results consistent with human society, such as stable heterogeneity of structures and organizational figureheads, further validating our results. The ABM of emergent organization incorporates only widely-observed cognitive behaviors and the recognition by agents of group membership, without any cooperation among the agents. The four flows are produced solely by agents biasing their limited communication resources in favor of allies. While reaffirming the centrality of communication patterns to organization, we thus also challenge the minimal conditions required to produce organizing behavior and complex social structures.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jonathan Pitt
- Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, United States of America
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2
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Romano V, Puga-Gonzalez I, MacIntosh AJJ, Sueur C. The role of social attraction and social avoidance in shaping modular networks. R Soc Open Sci 2024; 11:231619. [PMID: 38420628 PMCID: PMC10898973 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
How interactions between individuals contribute to the emergence of complex societies is a major question in behavioural ecology. Nonetheless, little remains known about the type of immediate social structure (i.e. social network) that emerges from relationships that maximize beneficial interactions (e.g. social attraction towards informed individuals) and minimize costly relationships (e.g. social avoidance of infected group mates). We developed an agent-based model where individuals vary in the degree to which individuals signal benefits versus costs to others and, on this basis, choose with whom to interact depending on simple rules of social attraction (e.g. access to the highest benefits) and social avoidance (e.g. avoiding the highest costs). Our main findings demonstrate that the accumulation of individual decisions to avoid interactions with highly costly individuals, but that are to some extent homogeneously beneficial, leads to more modular networks. On the contrary, individuals favouring interactions with highly beneficial individuals, but that are to some extent homogeneously costly, lead to less modular networks. Interestingly, statistical models also indicate that when individuals have multiple potentially beneficial partners to interact with, and no interaction cost exists, this also leads to more modular networks. Yet, the degree of modularity is contingent upon the variability in benefit levels held by individuals. We discuss the emergence of modularity in the systems and their consequences for understanding social trade-offs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valéria Romano
- IMBE, Aix Marseille Univ., Avignon Univ., CNRS, IRD, Marseille, France
| | - Ivan Puga-Gonzalez
- Center for Modelling Social Systems (CMSS) at NORCE, Kristiansand, Norway
| | | | - Cédric Sueur
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC UMR 7178, 67000 Strasbourg, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France
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3
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Hou L, Pan X, Liu K, Yang Z, Liu J, Zhou T. Information cocoons in online navigation. iScience 2022; 26:105893. [PMID: 36654864 PMCID: PMC9840977 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2022] [Revised: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Social media and online navigation bring us enjoyable experiences in accessing information, and simultaneously create information cocoons (ICs) in which we are unconsciously trapped with limited and biased information. We provide a formal definition of IC in the scenario of online navigation. Subsequently, by analyzing real recommendation networks extracted from Science, PNAS, and Amazon websites, and testing mainstream algorithms in disparate recommender systems, we demonstrate that similarity-based recommendation techniques result in ICs, which suppress the system navigability by hundreds of times. We further propose a flexible recommendation strategy that addresses the IC-induced problem and improves retrieval accuracy in navigation, which are demonstrated by simulations on real data and online experiments on the largest video website in China. This paper quantifies the challenge of ICs in recommender systems and presents a viable solution, which offer insights into the industrial design of algorithms, future scientific studies, as well as policy making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Hou
- School of Management Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China,Informatics Research Centre, University of Reading, Reading RG66UD, UK
| | - Xue Pan
- School of Management Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China,Informatics Research Centre, University of Reading, Reading RG66UD, UK
| | - Kecheng Liu
- Informatics Research Centre, University of Reading, Reading RG66UD, UK,Institute of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Zimo Yang
- Beijing AiQiYi Science & Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing 100080, China
| | - Jianguo Liu
- Institute of Accounting and Finance, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai 200433, China,Research Group of Computational and AI Communication at Institute for Global Communications and Integrated Media, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China,Corresponding author
| | - Tao Zhou
- Big Data Research Center, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China,Corresponding author
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Simpson CR. Social Support and Network Formation in a Small-Scale Horticulturalist Population. Sci Data 2022; 9. [PMID: 36109560 PMCID: PMC9477840 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01516-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary studies of cooperation in traditional human societies suggest that helping family and responding in kind when helped are the primary mechanisms for informally distributing resources vital to day-to-day survival (e.g., food, knowledge, money, childcare). However, these studies generally rely on forms of regression analysis that disregard complex interdependences between aid, resulting in the implicit assumption that kinship and reciprocity drive the emergence of entire networks of supportive social bonds. Here I evaluate this assumption using individual-oriented simulations of network formation (i.e., Stochastic Actor-Oriented Models). Specifically, I test standard predictions of cooperation derived from the evolutionary theories of kin selection and reciprocal altruism alongside well-established sociological predictions around the self-organisation of asymmetric relationships. Simulations are calibrated to exceptional public data on genetic relatedness and the provision of tangible aid amongst all 108 adult residents of a village of indigenous horticulturalists in Nicaragua (11,556 ordered dyads). Results indicate that relatedness and reciprocity are markedly less important to whom one helps compared to the supra-dyadic arrangement of the tangible aid network itself.
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Gómez Y, Berezowski J, Jorge YA, Gebhardt-Henrich SG, Vögeli S, Stratmann A, Toscano MJ, Voelkl B. Similarity in Temporal Movement Patterns in Laying Hens Increases with Time and Social Association. Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:555. [PMID: 35268125 PMCID: PMC8908832 DOI: 10.3390/ani12050555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
We explored the relationship between social associations and individual activity patterns in domestic hens. Out of 1420 laying hens, 421 hens were equipped with RFID tags attached to RFID-specific leg bands (leg bands from Company Roxan, Selkirk, Scotland) to continuously track their change in location across four different areas (one indoor and three outdoor areas). Using a combination of social network analysis for quantifying social relationships and dynamic time warping for characterizing the movement patterns of hens, we found that hens were consistent in their individual variation in temporal activity and maintained stable social relationships in terms of preferred association partners. In addition to being consistent, social associations correlated with movement patterns and this correlation strengthened over the period of observation, suggesting that the animals aligned their activity patterns with those of their social affiliates. These results demonstrate the importance of social relationships when considering the expression of individual behaviour. Notably, differences in temporal patterns emerge despite rather homogeneous rearing conditions, same environment, and low genetic diversity. Thus, while variation in behavioural phenotypes can be observed across isolated individuals, this study shows that the social environment within a group can shape and enhance variation in general movement patterns of individual animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yamenah Gómez
- Center for Proper Housing: Poultry and Rabbits (ZTHZ), Division of Animal Welfare, VPH Institute, University of Bern, Burgerweg 22, 3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland; (S.G.G.-H.); (S.V.); (A.S.); (M.J.T.)
| | - John Berezowski
- Veterinary Public Health Institute, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
| | - Yandy Abreu Jorge
- National Centre for Animal and Plant Health, San José de las Lajas 32700, Cuba;
| | - Sabine G. Gebhardt-Henrich
- Center for Proper Housing: Poultry and Rabbits (ZTHZ), Division of Animal Welfare, VPH Institute, University of Bern, Burgerweg 22, 3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland; (S.G.G.-H.); (S.V.); (A.S.); (M.J.T.)
| | - Sabine Vögeli
- Center for Proper Housing: Poultry and Rabbits (ZTHZ), Division of Animal Welfare, VPH Institute, University of Bern, Burgerweg 22, 3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland; (S.G.G.-H.); (S.V.); (A.S.); (M.J.T.)
| | - Ariane Stratmann
- Center for Proper Housing: Poultry and Rabbits (ZTHZ), Division of Animal Welfare, VPH Institute, University of Bern, Burgerweg 22, 3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland; (S.G.G.-H.); (S.V.); (A.S.); (M.J.T.)
| | - Michael Jeffrey Toscano
- Center for Proper Housing: Poultry and Rabbits (ZTHZ), Division of Animal Welfare, VPH Institute, University of Bern, Burgerweg 22, 3052 Zollikofen, Switzerland; (S.G.G.-H.); (S.V.); (A.S.); (M.J.T.)
| | - Bernhard Voelkl
- Division of Animal Welfare, VPH Institute, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland;
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Tokita CK, Guess AM, Tarnita CE. Polarized information ecosystems can reorganize social networks via information cascades. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2102147118. [PMID: 34876511 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2102147118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The precise mechanisms by which the information ecosystem polarizes society remain elusive. Focusing on political sorting in networks, we develop a computational model that examines how social network structure changes when individuals participate in information cascades, evaluate their behavior, and potentially rewire their connections to others as a result. Individuals follow proattitudinal information sources but are more likely to first hear and react to news shared by their social ties and only later evaluate these reactions by direct reference to the coverage of their preferred source. Reactions to news spread through the network via a complex contagion. Following a cascade, individuals who determine that their participation was driven by a subjectively "unimportant" story adjust their social ties to avoid being misled in the future. In our model, this dynamic leads social networks to politically sort when news outlets differentially report on the same topic, even when individuals do not know others' political identities. Observational follow network data collected on Twitter support this prediction: We find that individuals in more polarized information ecosystems lose cross-ideology social ties at a rate that is higher than predicted by chance. Importantly, our model reveals that these emergent polarized networks are less efficient at diffusing information: Individuals avoid what they believe to be "unimportant" news at the expense of missing out on subjectively "important" news far more frequently. This suggests that "echo chambers"-to the extent that they exist-may not echo so much as silence.
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Ulrich Y, Kawakatsu M, Tokita CK, Saragosti J, Chandra V, Tarnita CE, Kronauer DJC. Response thresholds alone cannot explain empirical patterns of division of labor in social insects. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001269. [PMID: 34138839 PMCID: PMC8211278 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The effects of heterogeneity in group composition remain a major hurdle to our understanding of collective behavior across disciplines. In social insects, division of labor (DOL) is an emergent, colony-level trait thought to depend on colony composition. Theoretically, behavioral response threshold models have most commonly been employed to investigate the impact of heterogeneity on DOL. However, empirical studies that systematically test their predictions are lacking because they require control over colony composition and the ability to monitor individual behavior in groups, both of which are challenging. Here, we employ automated behavioral tracking in 120 colonies of the clonal raider ant with unparalleled control over genetic, morphological, and demographic composition. We find that each of these sources of variation in colony composition generates a distinct pattern of behavioral organization, ranging from the amplification to the dampening of inherent behavioral differences in heterogeneous colonies. Furthermore, larvae modulate interactions between adults, exacerbating the apparent complexity. Models based on threshold variation alone only partially recapitulate these empirical patterns. However, by incorporating the potential for variability in task efficiency among adults and task demand among larvae, we account for all the observed phenomena. Our findings highlight the significance of previously overlooked parameters pertaining to both larvae and workers, allow the formulation of theoretical predictions for increasing colony complexity, and suggest new avenues of empirical study. This study uses automated tracking of clonal raider ants and mathematical modeling to reveal how previously overlooked traits of larvae and workers might shape social organization in heterogeneous ant colonies. By incorporating the potential for variability in task efficiency among adults and task demand among larvae, the authors were able to account for all empirically observed phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuko Ulrich
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, United States of America
- Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mari Kawakatsu
- Program in Applied and Computational Mathematics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Christopher K. Tokita
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
| | - Jonathan Saragosti
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Vikram Chandra
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Corina E. Tarnita
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- * E-mail: (CET); (DJCK)
| | - Daniel J. C. Kronauer
- Laboratory of Social Evolution and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail: (CET); (DJCK)
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Fujioka H, Okada Y, Abe MS. Bipartite network analysis of ant-task associations reveals task groups and absence of colonial daily activity. R Soc Open Sci 2021; 8:201637. [PMID: 33614094 PMCID: PMC7890512 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/11/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Social insects are one of the best examples of complex self-organized systems exhibiting task allocation. How task allocation is achieved is the most fascinating question in behavioural ecology and complex systems science. However, it is difficult to comprehensively characterize task allocation patterns due to behavioural complexity, such as the individual variation, context dependency and chronological variation. Thus, it is imperative to quantify individual behaviours and integrate them into colony levels. Here, we applied bipartite network analyses to characterize individual-behaviour relationships. We recorded the behaviours of all individuals with verified age in ant colonies and analysed the individual-behaviour relationship at the individual, module and network levels. Bipartite network analysis successfully detected the module structures, illustrating that certain individuals performed a subset of behaviours (i.e. task groups). We confirmed age polyethism by comparing age between modules. Additionally, to test the daily rhythm of the executed tasks, the data were partitioned between daytime and nighttime, and a bipartite network was re-constructed. This analysis supported that there was no daily rhythm in the tasks performed. These findings suggested that bipartite network analyses could untangle complex task allocation patterns and provide insights into understanding the division of labour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haruna Fujioka
- Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Graduate School of Science, Osaka City University, 3-3-138 Sugimoto-cho, Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka 558-8585, Japan
| | - Yasukazu Okada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, 1-1 Minamiosawa, Hachioji, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masato S. Abe
- Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, RIKEN, Nihonbashi 1-chome Mitsui Building, 1-4-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0027, Japan
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