Enron Email Dataset Research Articles

ANALYSIS OF COGNITIVE SOCIAL AND KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS FROM ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

This paper explains the classical social network analysis and discusses how computer networks effect a shift in constructing social networks. The paper then concentrates on analyzing cognitive aspects of a social network, explaining a simple but scalable approach for modeling a socio-cognitive network. Novel measures using such a socio-cognitive network model are defined and applications of such measures to extract useful information is illustrated on the Enron email dataset. The paper then describes a Dempster-Schafer theory based approach towards modeling a cognitive knowledge network and uses the Enron email dataset to illustrate how the proposed model can be used to capture actors' perceptions in a knowledge network. The paper concludes with a summary of the proposed models and a discussion on new research directions that can arise due to such cognitive analyses of electronic communication data.

Structure in the Enron Email Dataset

We investigate the structures present in the Enron email dataset using singular value decomposition and semidiscrete decomposition. Using word frequency profiles, we show that messages fall into two distinct groups, whose extrema are characterized by short messages and rare words versus long messages and common words. It is surprising that length of message and word use pattern should be related in this way. We also investigate relationships among individuals based on their patterns of word use in email. We show that word use is correlated to function within the organization, as expected. Lastly, we show that relative changes to individuals' word usage over time can be used to identify key players in major company events.

Privacy Preserving Link Analysis on Dynamic Weighted Graph

Link analysis algorithms have been used successfully on hyperlinked data to identify authoritative documents and retrieve other information. They also showed great potential in many new areas such as counterterrorism and surveillance. Emergence of new applications and changes in existing ones created new opportunities, as well as difficulties, for them: (1) In many situations where link analysis is applicable, there may not be an explicit hyperlinked structure. (2) The system can be highly dynamic, resulting in constant update to the graph. It is often too expensive to rerun the algorithm for each update. (3) The application often relies heavily on client-side logging and the information encoded in the graph can be very personal and sensitive. In this case privacy becomes a major concern. Existing link analysis algorithms, and their traditional implementations, are not adequate in face of these new challenges. In this paper we propose the use of a weighted graph to define and/or augment a link structure. We present a generalized HITS algorithm that is suitable for running in a dynamic environment. The algorithm uses the idea of “lazy update” to amortize cost across multiple updates while still providing accurate ranking to users in the mean time. We prove the convergence of the new algorithm and evaluate its benefit using the Enron email dataset. Finally we devise a distributed implementation of the algorithm that preserves user privacy thus making it socially acceptable in real-world applications.