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Sunbelt XVIII and 5th European International Conference on Social Networks

Workshops

Wedneday, May 27 (Morning)

  1. Josep A. Rodriguez and Jose Luis Molina. El analisis de redes en Espana y Latinoamerica.

    Esta jornada se divide en dos partes. En la sesion de la manyana se analizaran investigaciones realizadas en los ambitos de:

    Estas investigaciones se presentaran en forma de taller de forma que sea posible una participacion activa. La sesion de la tarde se reserva a las contribuciones en castellano que investigadores de diferentes disciplinas estan llevando a cabo en el campo del analisis de redes sociales en Espanya e Iberoamerica.

  2. Steve Borgatti and Martin Everett: An Introduction to Network Analysis.

    This workshop is intended as a general introduction to social network analysis from an applied, how-do-you-do-it perspective. The topics include: differences between network analysis and other analytic traditions; network data collection and mathematical representation; visual representation of network data; elementary graph theory; centrality and centralization; hypothesis testing; detection of subgroups; and analysis of positions and roles. Participants will be instructed in the use of UCINET 5.0 software, which will be provided for no extra cost (manuals are not included). Participants are asked to bring laptop computers running Windows 95 or NT in order to run the software. (Non-continental Europeans: bring an electricity adaptor if you take your laptop!)
  3. Frans Stokman, Siegwart Lindenberg and Tom Snijders: Rational Choice and Social Networks.

    Historically, the emphasis in social networks is heavily on the analysis of static network structures. In this workshop, social networks are seen in the context of processes and especially the micro-macro perspective. In this perspective, social networks are primarily seen in the context of joint goal attainment of social actors. For this reason, it is important to include a theory of goals in network analysis. The structure of networks will be influenced by the kinds of goals they serve. Because individuals regard networks as part of their own goal achievement, networks are also cognitive entities. The network structure itself is seen as the intended or unintended consequence of simultaneous choices of persons or other social units, represented by these persons. In turn, a network (and the individual position within it) is also a bundle of constraints or opportunities for action. Social network structures and positions should, therefore, be treated both as dependent and as independent variable of behavior of social actors. Within this paradigm, the following topics are treated:
    1. Individual goal structures and social production functions and the relation of networks to groups.
    2. Social networks in game theory.
    3. Approaches and techniques for the simulation of network evolution.
    4. Statistical models for the formation and evolution of networks (actor-oriented stochastic models) and for contagion (spatial autocorrelation).

Wednesday, May 27 (Afternoon)

  1. Vladimir Batagelj and Andrej Mrvar: Pajek - Workshop

    Large networks (networks having thousands of vertices and lines) can be found in many different areas, e.g: flowcharts, molecule, computer networks, transportation networks, genealogies, citation networks, intra/inter organisational networks ... Pajek is a PC (Windows) program package for analysis and visualization of large networks. It is freely available at http://vlado.fmf.uni-lj.si/pub/networks/pajek/ The workshop will consist of two parts:
    1. Guided tour:
      • Pajek data types (network, cluster, partition, permutation, hierarchy) and files (NET, GED, Vega, XYZ, EPS, PS, VRML);
      • network drawing: automatic layouts, manual editing, 3D representations, viewer;
      • basic analyses: degree distributions, components (weak, strong, bi-); substructures: k-neighbors, kernels, cliques, ...
      • transformations: extracting subgraphs, shrinking clusters, ...
      • tools: CPM, flow, shortest path(s), ...
      • macros: user defined commands.
      • Selected examples: Erdos graph, TCS (theoretical computer science) phd graph, graphs from Internet, citation networks, graphs from social networks literature.
    2. In the second part, participants with their own laptops, could try to do the analyses by themselves - because of very high costs we decided not to use local computers. (Non-continental Europeans: bring an electricity adaptor if you take your laptop!)

During the Conference

  1. Barry Wellman: A Non-Technical Introduction to Social Network Analysis

    This workshop introduces the underlying philosophy of social network analysis. It sketches the history of the paradigm, identifies its principles, distinguishes between whole network and ego-centered network research, and provides an overview of basic research methods, including block-modeling, clustering, and egocentric approaches using standard statistical packages such as SAS. It reviews highlights of substantive research in a number of areas (including community analysis, social support, intercorporate relations, politics, migration, and world-systems). Barry Wellman, University of Toronto, is the founder of INSNA.
  2. Frank Harary: Graph Theory Basics, the Heart of Network Analysis.

    The four most basic concepts of graph theory for applicability to social networks are:
    1. tree structures and types of centrality;
    2. connectivity and flows in networks;
    3. colorability and its application to scheduling problems; and
    4. signed graphs and balanced structures.

    It is planned to open with a survey of various methods for presenting the information contained in a graph, such as various matrices and relations. Then practice exercises in all four of the listed topics will be given. No specific previous mathematical knowledge is required, but a strong feeling of motivation asserting that the powerful methods and crystal clear concepts of the mathematical theory of graphs can be most helpful as logical models in all the social sciences.