Date of Award

Spring 2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering

Program/Concentration

Modeling and Simulation

Committee Director

Andrew Collins

Committee Member

Dean Chatfield

Committee Member

David Earnest

Committee Member

Roland Mielke

Abstract

The Barabasi-Albert model (BA model) is the standard algorithm used to describe the emergent mechanism of a scale-free network. This dissertation argues that the BA model, and its variants, rarely take agent heterogeneity into account in the analysis of network formation. In social networks, however, people's decisions to connect are strongly affected by the extent of similarity. In this dissertation, the author applies an agent-based modeling (ABM) approach to reassess the Barabasi-Albert model. This study proposes that, in forming social networks, agents are constantly balancing between instrumental and intrinsic preferences. After systematic simulation and subsequent analysis, this study finds that agents' preference of popularity and proclivity strongly shapes various attributes of simulated social networks. Moreover, this analysis of simulated networks investigates potential ways to detect this balance within real-world networks. Particularly, the scale parameter of the power-distribution is found sensitive solely to agents' preference popularity. Finally, this study employs the social media data (i.e., diffusion of different emotions) for Sina Weibo—a Chinese version Tweet—to valid the findings, and results suggest that diffusion of anger is more popularity-driven.

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In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/8153-q905

ISBN

9781321832938

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