Essays on networks and social interaction
Name
1019910128-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
16.42 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
db33681553ec4b57e84bc01ec38d2e44
Author(s)
Knox, Dean, 1988-
Advisor(s)
Teppei Yamamoto.
Date Issued
2017
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
This dissertation presents new models and experimental designs for understanding network behavior and social interaction. The first paper develops a model for a new kind of data, "path data," that represents the sequential decisions made by actors navigating social, geographic, and other kinds of networks. The model is validated in a benchmark test, then used to measure sectarian influences in the ways that Sunni and Shia individuals navigate the streets of Baghdad in a smartphone-based field activity. The second paper uses a novel experimental design to examine the social network search patterns employed by both sects. Using smartphone and self-reported data, the paper shows that differing search strategies result in differential access to public services in Baghdad. The third paper presents a new model for measuring rhetorical style and other modes of speech in political deliberation. The model is validated in a benchmark test of conflictual speech in political debates.
Description
Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Political Science, 2017.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 161-169).
Subjects
Political Science.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Political Science
Terms of Use
MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.
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