Related papers: Modelling structure and predicting dynamics of dis…
This paper uses a multi-layer network model to study deliberation in online discussion platforms, focusing on the Reddit platform. The model comprises two layers: a discussion layer, which represents the comment-to-comment replies as a…
In this paper, a method of modeling the dynamics of electronic discussions is proposed based on the so called FOPDT model (First Order Plus Dead Time) known from the process control. Knowledge of the model points to possibility of…
This paper examines the interplay of opinion exchange dynamics and communication network formation. An opinion formation procedure is introduced which is based on an abstract representation of opinions as $k$--dimensional bit--strings.…
In this paper, we propose a new model for continuous time opinion dynamics on an evolving network. As opposed to existing models, in which the network typically evolves by discretely adding or removing edges, we instead propose a model for…
Group discussions are essential for organizing every aspect of modern life, from faculty meetings to senate debates, from grant review panels to papal conclaves. While costly in terms of time and organization effort, group discussions are…
Conversations are an integral part of online social media, and gaining insights into these conversations is of significant value for many commercial as well as academic use cases. From a computational perspective, however, analyzing…
How does information flow in online social networks? How does the structure and size of the information cascade evolve in time? How can we efficiently mine the information contained in cascade dynamics? We approach these questions…
We propose a novel class of network models for temporal dyadic interaction data. Our goal is to capture a number of important features often observed in social interactions: sparsity, degree heterogeneity, community structure and…
People nowadays express their opinions in online spaces, using different forms of interactions such as posting, sharing and discussing with one another. How do these digital traces change in response to events happening in the real world?…
Online debate forums provide users a platform to express their opinions on controversial topics while being exposed to opinions from diverse set of viewpoints. Existing work in Natural Language Processing (NLP) has shown that linguistic…
We present a structured random-walk model that captures key aspects of how people communicate in groups. Our model takes the form of a correlated L\'{e}vy flight that quantifies the balance between focused discussion of an idea and…
Modeling user engagement dynamics on social media has compelling applications in user-persona detection and political discourse mining. Most existing approaches depend heavily on knowledge of the underlying user network. However, a large…
How does political discourse spread in digital networks? Can we empirically test if certain conceptual frames of social movements have a correlate on their online discussion networks? Through an analysis of the Twitter data from the Occupy…
Social Network sites are fertile ground for several polluting phenomena affecting online and offline spaces. Among these phenomena are included echo chambers, closed systems in which the opinions expressed by the people inside are…
People's interests and people's social relationships are intuitively connected, but understanding their interplay and whether they can help predict each other has remained an open question. We examine the interface of two decisive…
Social media platforms promise to enable rich and vibrant conversations online; however, their potential is often hindered by antisocial behaviors. In this paper, we study the relationship between structure and toxicity in conversations on…
The last decade has seen great progress in both dynamic network modeling and topic modeling. This paper draws upon both areas to create a Bayesian method that allows topic discovery to inform the latent network model and the network…
We explore linguistic and behavioral features of dogmatism in social media and construct statistical models that can identify dogmatic comments. Our model is based on a corpus of Reddit posts, collected across a diverse set of…
Platforms like Reddit and Twitter offer internet users an opportunity to talk about diverse issues, including those pertaining to physical and mental health. Some of these forums also function as a safe space for severely distressed mental…
This paper investigates a model of opinion formation on an adaptive social network, consisting of a system of coupled ordinary differential equations for individuals' opinions and corresponding network edge weights. A key driver of the…