Quantitative evaluation of the roles of community events and artifacts for social network formation: a multilayer network model of a community of practice

Abstract

Participation in community events such as local festivals can provide people with opportunities to collaborate with community members whom they would have never met otherwise. Furthermore, such collaboration through community events is likely to expand interaction even in daily life. In addition, if the physical properties of a public space in which community events are held change, the number and variety of the participants may also change, which could result in additional collaborations in the events. Therefore, the expansion of interaction in daily life is likely to be greater. Through the application of a social network model based on game theory, this study formulates a multilayer network model that expresses interaction in community events and in daily life by using different network layers. The study analyzes the extent to which new interactions in a layer of daily life are expanded through interactions in a layer of community events that are created through participation in the event. In terms of the expansion of networks in daily life, this study quantitatively evaluates the roles of community events and the physical properties of public spaces in which events are held.