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Hauptverfasser: Talaga, Szymon, Stella, Massimo, Swanson, Trevor James, Teixeira, Andreia Sofia
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2023
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16774
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author Talaga, Szymon
Stella, Massimo
Swanson, Trevor James
Teixeira, Andreia Sofia
author_facet Talaga, Szymon
Stella, Massimo
Swanson, Trevor James
Teixeira, Andreia Sofia
contents Polarization, understood as a division into mutually hostile groups, is a common feature of social systems. It is studied in Structural Balance Theory (SBT) in terms of semicycles in signed networks. However, enumerating semicycles is computationally expensive, so approximations are often needed. Here we introduce Multiscale Semiwalk Balance (MSB) approach for measuring degree of balance (DoB) in (un)directed, (un)weighted signed networks by approximating semicycles with closed semiwalks. It allows for selection of the resolution of analysis appropriate for assessing DoB motivated by Locality Principle (LP), which posits that patterns in shorter cycles are more important than in longer ones. Our approach overcomes several limitations affecting walk-based approximations, and provides methods for assessing DoB at various scales, from graphs to individual nodes, and for clustering signed networks. We demonstrate its effectiveness by applying it to real-world social systems, for which it produces explainable results consistent with expectations based on domain-specific knowledge.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2303_16774
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Polarization and multiscale structural balance in signed networks
Talaga, Szymon
Stella, Massimo
Swanson, Trevor James
Teixeira, Andreia Sofia
Physics and Society
Social and Information Networks
Polarization, understood as a division into mutually hostile groups, is a common feature of social systems. It is studied in Structural Balance Theory (SBT) in terms of semicycles in signed networks. However, enumerating semicycles is computationally expensive, so approximations are often needed. Here we introduce Multiscale Semiwalk Balance (MSB) approach for measuring degree of balance (DoB) in (un)directed, (un)weighted signed networks by approximating semicycles with closed semiwalks. It allows for selection of the resolution of analysis appropriate for assessing DoB motivated by Locality Principle (LP), which posits that patterns in shorter cycles are more important than in longer ones. Our approach overcomes several limitations affecting walk-based approximations, and provides methods for assessing DoB at various scales, from graphs to individual nodes, and for clustering signed networks. We demonstrate its effectiveness by applying it to real-world social systems, for which it produces explainable results consistent with expectations based on domain-specific knowledge.
title Polarization and multiscale structural balance in signed networks
topic Physics and Society
Social and Information Networks
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.16774