Bridging: Locating critical connectors in a network |
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Authors: | Thomas W. Valente Kayo Fujimoto |
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Affiliation: | Institute for Prevention Research, Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1000 Fremont Ave, Bldg A Room 5110, Alhambra, CA 91803, United States |
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Abstract: | This paper proposes several measures for bridging in networks derived from Granovetter's (1973) insight that links which reduce distances in a network are important structural bridges. Bridging is calculated by systematically deleting links and calculating the resultant changes in network cohesion (measured as the inverse average path length). The average change for each node's links provides an individual level measure of bridging. We also present a normalized version which controls for network size and a network-level bridging index. Bridging properties are demonstrated on hypothetical networks, empirical networks, and a set of 100 randomly generated networks to show how the bridging measure correlates with existing network measures such as degree, personal network density, constraint, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, and vitality. Bridging and the accompanying methodology provide a family of new network measures useful for studying network structure, network dynamics, and network effects on substantive behavioral phenomenon. |
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Keywords: | Bridges Bridging Strength of weak ties Disease transmission Behavior change Opinion leaders |
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