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Group disappearance in social networks with communities

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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to handle the disappearance of a group of nodes in a social network. The quality of the information flow is used as a key performance indicator to conduct network changes after group disappearance. Nodes as well as node sets are first classified into categories (critical and non-critical nodes, and scattered, contiguous and hybrid groups) and then analyzed according to two distinct perspectives: the network as a whole or its identified communities. Finally, algorithms are devised to manage group disappearance according to different cases. New links are added in a parsimonious way and a possible substitute for a leaving group is found based on the adage “birds of a feather flock together” and the homophily principle. This means that new links (e.g., relationships) and a potential substitute are found only between individuals that share common characteristics such as beliefs, values, and education, i.e., individuals that are more likely neighbors of the leaving node or group. To validate our approach, an empirical study is conducted using various kinds of data sets and a set of criteria. The results show the benefits of our solution in terms of response time, number of added links and metrics of the overall network topology.

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Acknowledgments

I. Sarr is grateful to “Programme canadien de bourses de la Francophonie” (PCBF) of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for the postdoctoral fellowship while R. Missaoui acknowledges the financial support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Cheikh Anta Diop, BP 5005, Fann, Dakar, Senegal

    Idrissa Sarr

  2. Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), Gatineau, QC, Canada

    Rokia Missaoui & Romain Lalande

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  1. Idrissa Sarr
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  2. Rokia Missaoui
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  3. Romain Lalande
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Correspondence to Idrissa Sarr.

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Sarr, I., Missaoui, R. & Lalande, R. Group disappearance in social networks with communities. Soc. Netw. Anal. Min. 3, 651–665 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-013-0112-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13278-013-0112-1

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