Homework 2: Short Paper
This week's assignment is a short paper. In Linked, Barabasi
discusses many features of the structure of networks. Pick a real-world
network or event not discussed in the book and describe how at least three
of the
following
principles from Linked apply to that single network:
- Small Worlds
- Power Laws
- The 80/20 rule
- Preferential attachment
- Propagation
- Robustness
For example, diseases are discussed in the book. A paper about a disease
could discuss (1) how highly connected hubs (formed by preferential
attachment) are particularly high risk because they spread disease to many
people; (2) that the Robustness of these networks makes it difficult to
disrupt the disease spreading process and (3) the rules of propagation and
how they apply.
Some sample topics you could choose for your paper are :
- The collapse of the banking system (Listening
to this This American Life segment will provide some great background
on the topic)
- The roots of terrorism / ethnic violence / extremism in some countries
- How songs / movies / books become hits or failures (specific songs /
movies / books would make interesting case studies)
- The network of links between business executives (Enron would be an
interesting case study, and They Rule is another)
- Why some social networing websites succeed and others fail
You can choose from these or pick your own topic. If you want to check to
make sure your idea is ok, email Prof Golbeck as soon as possible.
Hints:
- A common mistake is for students to write about phenomena, but not
about
networks. For example, while you may argue that in many countries 20% of
the population controls 80% of the wealth, there is no network in that
discussion. You must have a network.
- When you think about this, don't just make up theories - support your
arguments with facts. I have had students argue that certain musical
artists control a huge portion of the market, but there are no facts to
support this. You do not need to do deep research for supporting data,
but you cannot just guess that supporting evidence exists.
- This can be an interdisciplinary paper so feel free to pull in ideas
from
other classes you are taking.
Requirements:
-
The paper must be 1000-1500 words.
You must use 12 pt Times or
Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins on all sides, on standard US Letter
sized paper.
- In the beginning of the paper, you should define your network. Say
what it is, give some background, and explicitly state what are the nodes
and what are the edges. This will help you stay clear on the network as
you write the rest of the paper. Remember - everything should be about
that one network with the nodes and edges you define.
- You need to pick at least three of the principles mentioned above and
discuss how they apply to your network. I recommend at least one or
two full
paragraphs on each principle. Make it easy for me to see which principles
you are
using and how they relate to your network.