Why social network analysis is important to Air Force applications

Havig, Paul R.; McIntire, John P.; Geiselman, Eric E.; Mohd-Zaid, Fairul

doi:10.1117/12.920006

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Today, the intelligence and operational communities widely use SNA in order to analyze relationships between individuals within groups of interest. 3 In some cases, SNA is used in this context to monitor and possibly influence a network of interest. From a security and defense standpoint, individuals within the network may represent friendlies or potential threats, or as applied to non-humans, could represent relations among assets or critical resources such as a network of computers, the power grid, or water sources.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Network characterization and simulation via mixed properties of the Barabási–Albert and Erdös–Rényi degree distribution

Mohd-Zaid

Kabban

Deckro

et al. 2022

Journal of Defense Modeling & Simulation

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Social network analysis (SNA) is a tool for the operations researcher to understand, monitor, and exploit social and military structures which are key in the intelligence community. However, in order to study and influence a network of interest, the network must first be characterized; preferably to a known network model that captures a mixture of graphical properties exhibited by the social network of interest. In this work, we present a novel statistical method for both characterizing networks via a Binomial-Pareto maximum-likelihood approach and simulating the characterized network using a graph of mixed Barabási–Albert (BA, scale-free) and Erdös–Rényi (ER, randomness) properties. Characterization is performed through a combination of hypothesis tests and method of moments parameter estimation on Pareto and Doubly Truncated Binomial distributions. Application on real-world networks suggests that such networks may be characterized with a mixture of scale-free and random properties as modeled through BA and ER graphs. We demonstrate that our simulation methods are able to capture the degree distribution and density of the networks examined. These results demonstrate that this work establishes a statistical framework upon which network characterization and simulation may be accomplished, thus enabling the adaptation of such methods when generating, manipulating, and observing networks of interest.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Network characterization and simulation via mixed properties of the Barabási–Albert and Erdös–Rényi degree distribution

Mohd-Zaid

Kabban

Deckro

et al. 2022

Journal of Defense Modeling & Simulation

Self Cite

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“…SNA may not be a completely new tool, but it has seen little theoretical or empirical establishment. More recently, researchers from social and natural sciences have proposed an interdisciplinary effort to establish social network theory, following the trend of information visualization (Havig et al, 2012). In this study, we apply SNA principles to IDP communities in the Bakassi IDP camp located in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, to understand how they connect with the host community in Maiduguri and between themselves.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A social network analysis of internally displaced communities in northeast Nigeria: potential conflicts with host communities in the Lake Chad region

Kamta

Scheffran

2021

GeoJournal

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In this study, we aim to analyze social networks in which internally displaced persons (IDPs) are involved in northeast Nigeria, after they have been displaced by the insurgency of the Boko Haram group. While IDPs usually resettle in camps operated by the government, contacts with host communities are common. We further analyze the potential that such contacts may lead to conflicts between IDPs and their host communities in the Lake Chad region. Data for this study were collected by interviewing IDPs in the Bakassi IDP camp in Maiduguri and by interviewing members of the host community in Maiduguri in close proximity to the Bakassi IDP camp. A Social Network Analysis approach was used to analyze the data, by constructing social network graphs and computing network attributes, mainly the betweenness centrality of actors. The results of the study show on the one hand a mixture of friendly and conflicting relationships between IDPs and the host community from the IDPs’ perspective, and on the other hand, only few contacts between members of the host community and IDPs in the Bakassi IDP camp, from the host community's perspective. The analysis suggests that in the context of conflict present in the Lake Chad region, IDPs and members of the host community mainly use closed networks, to keep available resources and economic opportunities within their communities. We recommend a better service delivery to IDPs but also to members of the host communities who feel neglected as more attention is given to IDPs with the distribution of humanitarian aid.

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Why social network analysis is important to Air Force applications

Cited by 2 publications

References 6 publications

Network characterization and simulation via mixed properties of the Barabási–Albert and Erdös–Rényi degree distribution

Network characterization and simulation via mixed properties of the Barabási–Albert and Erdös–Rényi degree distribution

A social network analysis of internally displaced communities in northeast Nigeria: potential conflicts with host communities in the Lake Chad region

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