COMP2782 Social and Information Networks

2018

4.5

1 x 1-hour lecture weekly
1 x 2-hour tutorial weekly
1 x 1-hour workshop weekly

Programming skills such as acquired in COMP1102 Computer Programming 1.

To provide students with a solid grounding in both the nature and context of Social Networks, including the physical structure of Social Networks, the management of them, and the ramifications of usage and participation in them. Students will explore how to practically analyse large scale network data using models for network structure and evolution. This topic reviews current research on the structure and analysis of such large social and information networks and on models and algorithms that abstract their basic properties, methods for link analysis and network community detection, diffusion and information propagation on the web, virus outbreak detection in networks. The topic will also provide study in the use of tools in Social Networking, and the use of cross promotion and appropriate information dissemination for Enterprise purposes. Also covered will be professional and personal identity management, and the identification of appropriate content and boundaries for posting on networks. There will also be discussion of considerations of privacy and rights online in an increasingly connected professional as well as personal contexts.

This topic aims to give students a sound understanding of Social Media, its use in Networking, and a sound knowledge of usage of related tools, as well as acceptable usage both professionally and personally.

At the completion of this topic, students are expected to be able to:

1. Understand how to use graph theory for the analysis of networks
2. Apply a range of tools to analyse network structure and evolution
3. Evaluate methods for network community detection, diffusion and information propagation on the Web
4. Evaluate methods for detecting virus outbreaks in networks
5. Consider appropriate professional and personal use of Social Networks
6. Understand the ethical and professional considerations of Social Networks