Three-dimensional visualization and animation of emerging patterns by the process of self-organization in collaboration networks

Abstract

The "Social Gestalt" model is a new parametric model visualizing 3-D graphs, using animation to show these graphs from different points of view. A visible 3-D graph image is the emerging pattern at the macro level of a system of co-authorships by the process of self-organization. Well-ordered 3-D computer graphs are totally rotatable and their shapes are visible from all possible points of view. The objectives of this paper are the description of several methods for three-dimensional modelling and animation and the application of these methods to two co-authorship networks selected for demonstration of varying 3-D graph images. This application of the 3-D graph modelling and animation shows for both the journal "NATURE" and the journal "Psychology of Women Quarterly" that at any time and independently on the manifold visible results of rotation, the empirical values nearly exactly match the theoretical distributions (Called "Social Gestalts") obtained by regression analysis. In addition the emergence of different shapes between the 3-D graphs of "NATURE" and "Psychology of Women Quarterly" is explained.