In class we discussed network dynamics in terms of “diffusion of innovation” and behavior changing dynamics within a population setting. This model can hold true to a host of different innovations and behaviors- neither of which must be positive or negative influence on the population.
An article that I came across that I found particularly interesting […]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/28/film.summerpreview.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch
With the summer movie season on the horizon, people are waiting in anticipation for the stream of movies to be released. Sequels and new movies will inundate the industry this summer with movies such as Iron man, The Dark Knight, and Indiana Jones. The season begins with Iron man, and already critics everywhere […]

‘Cyberclinic: With Friends Like These…’ by Rhodri Marsden, talks about social networking sites and friend collectors. They are the ‘people who have an overwhelming desire to either feel, or appear, massively connected to an enormous matrix of human beings’. He mentions the fact that he has been ‘friended’ many times by a number of people […]

Just as Google’s PageRank algorithm revolutionized internet webpage searching, a recently unveiled prototype fresh from Google Labs is expected to revolutionize internet image searching. Current image search technologies simply are an extension of the text-based PageRank system that Google uses for webpage ranking. Images results are generated from keywords in the images’ filenames […]

        In class, we have talked about the concept of diffusion of innovations. It is interesting to observe how people adopt new technology from early adopters relatively fast and eventually wide in a neighboring network. I am interested in whether the innovation diffusion model can be applied to different concepts, especially where […]

The Gap between the Rich and the Poor
The gap between the rich and the poor is continuing to grow every now and then. The poor are getting poor while the rich are getting richer. This has been noticed in India, china, and the United States. There are very many reasons as to why this gap […]

The academic field of network science received a big boost on Tuesday when Upenn announced a five-year, $7.5 million grant from the Office of Naval Research for multidisciplinary study of networks.  The school’s statement reflects the diverse nature of networks, emphasizing their role in online social networking, politics, energy, and finance.  In addition to studying […]

Thomas Schelling’s segregation model, discussed in class and in his book Micromotives and Macrobehavior, yields pessimism for those who believe in and strive for integrated neighborhoods. Even a mild preference on the part of all residents for neighbors of the same color (Schelling uses 33%, the example in class used 40%) eventually the neighborhood becomes […]

Recently, Amber Wutich and Christopher McCarty published the article “Social networks and infant feeding in Oaxaca, Mexico” in the journal Maternal & Child Nutrition. The article can be found through
www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2007.00122.x
(then, click on ‘Full text HTML’)
There are many health benefits to extending breastfeeding and delaying the introduction of solid foods to an infant in the first […]

As learned in class, an information cascade occurs when an individual is able to observe the decisions of others before they act, and it may be rational for them to choose to follow the others even if their own information tells them something else.
 We may not think about it that often, but many who use […]