Information Dissemination In Networks Research Articles

Modeling the dissemination of privacy information in online social networks

AbstractDriven by the rapid development of information technology, online social networks (OSNs) have experienced a fast development in recent years, allowing increasingly more people to share and spread information over OSNs. The rapid rise of OSN platforms such as Facebook and Twitter is sufficient evidence of such development. As one type of information, privacy information can also be created and disseminated over an OSN, posing a severe threat to individual privacy. This article attempts to construct a model for disseminating privacy information in OSNs and to analyze the model by simulating the dissemination process of privacy information in OSNs. First, we establish network models that exhibit the main characteristics of OSNs. Second, by considering the factors related to social relationships, especially intimacy between users and the attention of users to the privacy subject, we derive the parameters for privacy information dissemination models in OSNs. Third, based on the theory of information dissemination dynamics, we construct a model for information dissemination that conforms to the properties of privacy information. We also present some experimental results based on the constructed model and analyze the characteristics of privacy information dissemination. Fourth, we study and verify the various properties of the model through a set of experiments. The proposed model provides the opportunity to better understand the dynamics of privacy information dissemination in OSNs and the effect of user behavior on dissemination.

Finding the key nodes to minimize the victims of the malicious information in complex network

Safeguarding crucial nodes provides a direct approach to impede the dissemination of malicious information in complex networks, such as the Internet. However, determining the optimal budget size, represented as k, for protecting nodes is a challenging problem classified as NP-hard. In this study, we investigate the origin of the NP-hard property, known as the influence redundancy mechanism, as a means to address this problem. The influence redundancy characterizes the intricate interactions among key nodes. Subsequently, we introduce an objective function that allows for the optimization of the set of key nodes. Our objective is to minimize the spectral radius of the adjacency matrix after removing these key nodes. We mathematically prove that the objective function exhibits the submodular property, and our proposed method achieves an approximation ratio of (1−1/e) with a time complexity of O(NlogN), where N represents the size of the network. Experimental results show that the identified key nodes outperform classical methods in 20 empirical networks, specifically in the Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model and Independent Cascade (IC) model, thus confirming their improved performance quality.

Entropy-Based Node Importance Identification Method for Public Transportation Infrastructure Coupled Networks: A Case Study of Chengdu.

Public transportation infrastructure is a typical, complex, coupled network that is usually composed of connected bus lines and subway networks. This study proposes an entropy-based node importance identification method for this type of coupled network that is helpful for the integrated planning of urban public transport and traffic flows, as well as enhancing network information dissemination and maintaining network resilience. The proposed method develops a systematic entropy-based metric based on five centrality metrics, namely the degree centrality (DC), betweenness centrality (BC), closeness centrality (CC), eigenvector centrality (EC), and clustering coefficient (CCO). It then identifies the most important nodes in the coupled networks by considering the information entropy of the nodes and their neighboring ones. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, a bus-subway coupled network in Chengdu, containing 10,652 nodes and 15,476 edges, is employed as a case study. Four network resilience assessment metrics, namely the maximum connectivity coefficient (MCC), network efficiency (NE), susceptibility (S), and natural connectivity (NC), were used to conduct group experiments. The experimental results demonstrate the following: (1) the multi-functional fitting analysis improves the analytical accuracy by 30% as compared to fitting with power law functions only; (2) for both CC and CCO, the improved metric's performance in important node identification is greatly improved, and it demonstrates good network resilience.

Modeling Group Opinion Evolution on Online Social Networks: A Gravitational Field Perspective

The research on group behavior is effective for establishing a good network environment since people in social networks tend to form groups spontaneously. Most studies on group behavior on online social networks assume that all individuals are reduced to one cluster, ignoring the existence of potential clusters and their importance in group opinion dynamics. This article introduces a novel group-gravitational field (GGF) model to investigate the opinion evolution based on group behavior by the following aspects: 1) the GGF model reduces a cluster in the social network into a charge and the whole network into a gravitational field; 2) the GGF model calculates the initial influence of a cluster according to the topology information and further constructs a gravity matrix of the network based on the Coulomb law; and 3) opinion-leader clusters exert the internal field force on common opinion clusters inside the gravitational field. The GGF model simulates the evolution of opinions among clusters in a network and studies the law of group behavior according to the influence between clusters based on Coulomb’s law. Experiments on real social networks verify that the GGF model enhances the speed of opinion evolution significantly. The simulation experiments indicate that the existence of clusters promotes the rapid convergence of opinions, a gathering of followers influences information dissemination in social networks, and the GGF model fits the reality better. This article provides a new approach to network supervision and control.

Interplay of network information dissemination in the era of big data on environmental sustainable development and agricultural consumers' purchase decisions

The rapid progress of technology has led to a proliferation of information sources and distribution channels, facilitating the dissemination of knowledge on environmental sustainability and agricultural practices to consumers. However, the intricate impact of Network Information Dissemination (NID) on environmental sustainability and consumer purchasing decisions in agriculture remains a complex area of study. This research aims to explore the interconnections between network information dissemination, environmental sustainability, agricultural consumer purchase decisions, and the mediating role of information overload and trust in information sources. Additionally, it investigates the moderating impact of information accessibility. Employing a quantitative research design, data is collected through an online survey targeted at Chinese consumers, with 400 responses being evaluated using SmartPLS. The findings reveal that network information distribution significantly and positively influences both environmental sustainability and agricultural consumer purchasing decisions. Moreover, the study identifies that information overload and trust in information sources act as moderators in the relationship between network information diffusion and agricultural consumer purchasing decisions. Additionally, the research indicates that information accessibility moderates the relationship between network information distribution and environmental sustainability. Specifically, when information accessibility is high, the relationship is more pronounced compared to situations where accessibility is low. This underscores the importance of information accessibility in achieving environmental sustainability through network information transmission.

Non-orthogonal Age-Optimal Information Dissemination in Vehicular Networks: A Meta Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning Approach

Non-orthogonal Age-Optimal Information Dissemination in Vehicular Networks: A Meta Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning Approach

Research on Emergence of Collective Behavior for Information Dissemination in Complex Networks

Research on Emergence of Collective Behavior for Information Dissemination in Complex Networks

Optimization of network flows for rural extension of fruit and vegetable agricultural technologies

Abstract This paper focuses on the rural promotion of fruit and vegetable agricultural technology and proposes a network flow optimization model based on linear programming for the diffusion of fruit and vegetable agricultural technology. Based on the Bass model, it describes the process of natural growth of network users and the word-of-mouth effect among them. Fruit and vegetable agricultural technology diffusion in real social networks is fitted and predicted by the social network information dissemination model, and the network flow problem of fruit and vegetable agricultural technology promotion is optimized using linear programming equations. Based on this basis, the algorithm designed in this paper and the effect of rural promotion of fruit and vegetable agricultural technology are analyzed with relevant data. The results show that the coefficient of the variable of the number of promotion times in the behavior of agrotechnology promotion is 0.064, which has a significant positive effect on the evaluation of the rural promotion performance of fruit and vegetable agricultural technology, indicating that increasing the number of agricultural technology training and enriching the content of agricultural technology promotion will help to improve the evaluation of the rural promotion performance of fruit and vegetable agricultural technology by farmers. The network flow optimization model constructed in this paper can enable farmers to master more modern fruit and vegetable agricultural technology to meet the needs of modern production of fruit and vegetable agriculture so as to improve the level of local fruit and vegetable agricultural development.

Assessment of the main features of the model of dissemination of information in social networks

<span lang="EN-US">Social networks provide a fairly wide range of data that allows one way or another to evaluate the effect of the dissemination of information. This article presents the results of a study that describes methods for determining the key parameters of the model needed to analyze and predict the dissemination of information in social networks. An approach based on the analysis of statistical data on user behavior in social networks is proposed. The process of evaluating the main features of the model is described, including the mathematical methods used for data analysis and information dissemination modeling. The study aims to understand the processes of information dissemination in social networks and develop recommendations for the effective use of social networks as a communication and brand promotion tool, as well as to consider the analytical properties of the classical susceptible-infected-removed (SIR) model and evaluate its applicability to the problem of information dissemination. The results of the study can be used to create algorithms and techniques that will effectively manage the process of information dissemination in social networks.</span>

An Extension of the Susceptible–Infected Model and Its Application to the Analysis of Information Dissemination in Social Networks

Social media significantly influences business, politics, and society. Easy access and interaction among users allow information to spread rapidly across social networks. Understanding how information is disseminated through these new publishing methods is crucial for political and marketing purposes. However, modeling and predicting information diffusion is challenging due to the complex interactions between network users. This study proposes an analytical approach based on diffusion models to predict the number of social media users engaging in discussions on a topic. We develop a modified version of the susceptible–infected (SI) model that considers the heterogeneity of interactions between users in complex networks. Our model considers the network structure, abandons the assumption of homogeneous mixing, and focuses on information diffusion in scale-free networks. We provide explicit algorithms for modeling information propagation on different types of random graphs and real network structures. We compare our model with alternative approaches, both those considering network structure and those that do not. The accuracy of our model in predicting the number of informed nodes in simulated information diffusion networks demonstrates its effectiveness in describing and predicting information dissemination in social networks. This study highlights the potential of graph-based epidemic models in analyzing online discussion topics and understanding other phenomena spreading on social networks.

Numerical Algorithm for Source Determination in a Diffusion–Logistic Model from Integral Data Based on Tensor Optimization

An algorithm has been developed for numerically solving the source determination problem in the model of information dissemination in synthetic online social networks, described by reaction–diffusion-type equations, using additional information about the process at fixed time points. The degree of ill-posedness of the source determination problem for a parabolic equation is studied based on the analysis of singular values of the linearized operator of the inverse problem. The algorithm developed is based on a combination of the tensor optimization method and gradient descent supplemented with the A.N. Tikhonov regularization. Numerical calculations demonstrate the smallest relative error in the reconstructed source obtained by the developed algorithm in comparison with classical approaches.

Dynamic evolution of information diffusion networks of news agencies in emergencies: a case study of microblogs of urban fire disasters on Sina Weibo

Dynamic evolution of information diffusion networks of news agencies in emergencies: a case study of microblogs of urban fire disasters on Sina Weibo

Retracted: Evaluation Algorithm of Ideological and Political Assistant Teaching Effect in Colleges and Universities under Network Information Dissemination

Retracted: Evaluation Algorithm of Ideological and Political Assistant Teaching Effect in Colleges and Universities under Network Information Dissemination

Information dissemination evolution under group feedback

In this paper, based on the feedback mechanism from the perspective of network groups, the evolutionary characteristics and laws of group networks under information dissemination are studied. First, the network is divided into groups of different sizes, and each group is given a dynamically changing group activity and a positive degree of response to different categories of information. Second, a feedback-based model of information dissemination in group networks is developed, which takes into account the differences between same-group and cross-group dissemination of information. Next, the model is applied to a scale-free network and a small-world network for simulation experiments. The experimental results show that, under the feedback mechanism, the main factor affecting the final evolutionary results of each group size in the small-world network is group positivity, which has little relationship with the initial size; similarly, the main factor affecting the average degree of each group in the scale-free network is also group positivity, which has nothing to do with the initial average degree. Finally, the method is applied to a real network to verify the rationality and effectiveness of the proposed model.

Impact of simplicial complexes on epidemic spreading in partially mapping activity-driven multiplex networks.

Over the past decade, the coupled spread of information and epidemic on multiplex networks has become an active and interesting topic. Recently, it has been shown that stationary and pairwise interactions have limitations in describing inter-individual interactions , and thus, the introduction of higher-order representation is significant. To this end, we present a new two-layer activity-driven network epidemic model, which considers the partial mapping relationship among nodes across two layers and simultaneously introduces simplicial complexes into one layer, to investigate the effect of 2-simplex and inter-layer mapping rate on epidemic transmission. In this model, the top network, called the virtual information layer, characterizes information dissemination in online social networks, where information can be diffused through simplicial complexes and/or pairwise interactions. The bottom network, named as the physical contact layer, denotes the spread of infectious diseases in real-world social networks. It is noteworthy that the correspondence among nodes between two networks is not one-to-one but partial mapping. Then, a theoretical analysis using the microscopic Markov chain (MMC) method is performed to obtain the outbreak threshold of epidemics, and extensive Monte Carlo (MC) simulations are also carried out to validate the theoretical predictions. It is obviously shown that MMC method can be used to estimate the epidemic threshold; meanwhile, the inclusion of simplicial complexes in the virtual layer or introductory partial mapping relationship between layers can inhibit the spread of epidemics. Current results are conducive to understanding the coupling behaviors between epidemics and disease-related information.

Integrating Multiple Linear Regression and Infectious Disease Models for Predicting Information Dissemination in Social Networks

Social network is the mainstream medium of current information dissemination, and it is particularly important to accurately predict its propagation law. In this paper, we introduce a social network propagation model integrating multiple linear regression and infectious disease model. Firstly, we proposed the features that affect social network communication from three dimensions. Then, we predicted the node influence via multiple linear regression. Lastly, we used the node influence as the state transition of the infectious disease model to predict the trend of information dissemination in social networks. The experimental results on a real social network dataset showed that the prediction results of the model are consistent with the actual information dissemination trends.

Analysis on the differences in information dissemination laws between online and offline social networks

Social networks are ubiquitous, which has been one of the important topics of many scholars. With the rapid development of information technology in recent years, people's social platforms are not limited to offline, and online social networks have gradually become an indispensable part of our lives. However, there is still a lack of research on the differences between online and offline social networks. Therefore, this paper probes into the differences between online and offline social network information dissemination by collecting data from online and offline double-layer coupled networks, and comparing and analyzing the data. Research shows that there are some differences between online and offline social networks in the law of information dissemination, which will have a certain impact on real life. Therefore, three suggestions are put forward: 1. At the initial stage of promotion, there are few audience groups, so offline methods can be adopted. With the expansion of information dissemination scope, gradually turning to online promotion, the best promotion effect will be achieved at the fastest speed. 2. The speed and effect of information dissemination can't be ignored for people who have no value in social network information dissemination. 3. Based on the complexity of the public opinion information dissemination network, users need to constantly cultivate their ability to identify information, the management of major social platforms earnestly perform their regulatory responsibilities, and the relevant functional departments of the government gradually establish a public opinion guidance mechanism. If joint efforts can be formed, the public opinion prevention and control effect will be more significant.

Multi-stage information diffusion for joint depth and surface normal estimation

Depth and surface normal estimations are important for 3D geometric perception, which has numerous applications including autonomous vehicles and robots. In this paper, we propose a lightweight Multi-stage Information Diffusion Network (MIDNet) for the simultaneous prediction of depth and surface normals from a single RGB image. To obtain semantic and detail-preserving features, we adopt a high-resolution network as our backbone to learn multi-scale features, which are then fused into shared features for the two tasks. To mutually boost each task, a Cross-Correlation Attention Module (CCAM) is proposed to adaptively integrate information for the prediction of the two tasks in multiple stages, including feature-level information interaction and task-level information interaction. Ablation studies show that the proposed multi-stage information diffusion strategy can boost the performance gain for the two tasks at different levels. Compared to current state-of-the-art methods on the NYU Depth V2, Stanford 2D-3D-Semantic and KITTI datasets, our method achieves superior performance for both monocular depth and surface normal estimation.

Exploring the impact of sentiment on multi-dimensional information dissemination using COVID-19 data in China

The outbreak of information epidemic in crisis events, with the channel effect of social media, has brought severe challenges to global public health. Combining information, users and environment, understanding how emotional information spreads on social media plays a vital role in public opinion governance and affective comfort, preventing mass incidents and stabilizing the network order. Therefore, from the perspective of the information ecology and elaboration likelihood model (ELM), this study conducted a comparative analysis based on two large-scale datasets related to COVID-19 to explore the influence mechanism of sentiment on the forwarding volume, spreading depth and network influence of information dissemination. Based on machine learning and social network methods, topics, sentiments, and network variables are extracted from large-scale text data, and the dissemination characteristics and evolution rules of online public opinions in crisis events are further analyzed. The results show that negative sentiment positively affects the volume, depth, and influence compared with positive sentiment. In addition, information characteristics such as richness, authority, and topic influence moderate the relationship between sentiment and information dissemination. Therefore, the research can build a more comprehensive connection between the emotional reaction of network users and information dissemination and analyze the internal characteristics and evolution trend of online public opinion. Then it can help sentiment management and information release strategy when emergencies occur.

A Game Theory-Based Model for the Dissemination of Privacy Information in Online Social Networks

Online social networks (OSNs) have experienced rapid growth in recent years, and an increasing number of people now use OSNs, such as Facebook and Twitter, to share and spread information on a daily basis. As a special type of information, user personal information is also widely disseminated in such networks, posing threats to user privacy. The study on privacy information dissemination is thus useful for the development of mechanisms and tools for the effective protection of privacy information in OSNs. In this paper, we propose to apply the game theory to establish a sender–receiver game model and the Nash equilibrium to describe the behavioral strategies of users in disseminating privacy information. Factors that affect the dissemination of privacy information are also analyzed with two important aspects: intimacy and popularity of the privacy-concerning subject. Simulation experiments were conducted based on real data sets from scale-free networks and real social networks to compare and analyze the effectiveness of the model. Results show that the proposed game theory is applicable to the privacy information dissemination model, which implements intimacy and popularity in the modeling of the dissemination of privacy information in OSNs. Both the impact of the macro-level OSNs and the micro-relationships between users are evaluated on the dissemination of privacy information, which provides a new perspective for exploring the dissemination of privacy information and facilitates the development of effective mechanisms for privacy protection in OSNs.