|
Welcome to SPIDER, a website of links and article/book reviews (below) relating to the spread of culture, information, and even diseases, maintained by Alan Reifman. |
What makes a clothing style, TV show, or movie
"take off" in popularity?
What leads to the spread of fads and crazes?
Some scholars focus on the products or ideas themselves (known as memes).
Others look at the social networks over which
messages are transmitted.
From culture to public health to surfing the 'net, networks and diffusion
processes play major roles.
I hope you'll find the educational resources below to be
useful.
The list of links has gotten pretty long, so be sure to scroll all
the way down!
| Article and Book Reviews (e-mail in your reviews of 100 words or less) |
| Bibliographies |
|
Knowledge
Networks |
| Memetics Bibliography |
| Social Network References (with links to software for network analysis). |
| Complex Human Networks (CoHN) Reading Group |
| Research Linking Psychology and Anthropology (compiled by Sara Hodges). |
| Word-of-Mouth Marketing Page, Michael Cafferky (Resources section has multiple bibliographies) |
| Blogs on Network-Related Topics |
| Harvard Program on Networked Governance |
| Chartings of Network Linkages (when people work together, the greater the opportunity for ideas to pass from one person to another) |
| Erdos Numbers, showing scholars' co-authorship links to the legendary mathematician Paul Erdos (those who co-authored a paper with Erdos are a "1," those who co-authored a paper with an Erdos 1 are a 2, etc); this shows, among other things, the degree to which scholars in an academic discipline are tightly linked. |
| Oracle of Bacon, documenting linkages (appearances in the same movie) between actors, aka "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon." |
| The Baconizer, uses Amazon.com's "people who purchased X also purchased Y" database to show commonalities of consumer preferences. |
| 3.6 Degrees of Texas Tech Social Psychology |
| Social Psychology Connections Project, created by Alan Swinkels of St. Edward's University, this page displays links from mentors (dissertation advisors) to students for many prominent social psychologists (note that the page remains a work in progress). |
| Watson & Crick's network of assistance while working on DNA structure. |
| Purchasing patterns of political books -- a sharp cleavage into left and right. |
| Touch Graph, a website where visitors can obtain graphical network depictions of how any website of their choice is linked to other sites via a Google clustering algorithm (Google option), as well as other types of linkages among entities. |
| Visual Complexity, a colorful array of naturalistic network graphs. |
| "They Run Richmond," a network depiction of the power players in this Virginia city, from the Times-Dispatch newspaper (thanks to Don Forsyth for sending this to me) NEW |
| Concepts |
| Attitudes and Persuasive Communications. One way to spread ideas is to try to persuade people to adopt them. See webpage on this topic by Lucy Zinkiewicz. |
| Conformity. To what degree do we follow the behavior and opinions of others? See outline of the historical conformity (or conformity-type) studies of Sherif, Asch, and Milgram by Notre Dame's Richard Williams. |
| Contagion (or Social Contagion). See review paper (with a lot of graphic depictions) by the University of Chicago's Ronald Burt. |
| Cultural evolution. See the websites of the anthropologists Robert Boyd and Peter Richerson, along with that of UCLA's Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture. |
|
Diffusion.
Early sociological
research (Ryan and Gross,
1940s study on adoption of hybrid corn in Iowa):
first adopters/innovators, early adopters, early majority, late
majority, laggards; University of South Florida document
on history of diffusion research. |
| Dynamic social impact, concerned with how the spatial distribution of individuals with different attitudes affects patterns at the group level (website). |
| Gene-Culture Interaction or Co-evolution. Different authors will probably mean different things by these terms, but I think of them in terms of biological evolution potentially having imposed constraints upon appreciation and transmission of elements of culture. Many of the books in the book-review section take up this issue. See the specific example in my review of E.O. Wilson's Consilience. |
| Imitation (also closely related terms modeling and social learning). Website on Bandura's theory. |
|
Memes.
From the Richard Dawkins
book The Selfish Gene,
units of culture,
conceptualized as being transmitted in analogous fashion to genes in the
biological realm (cultural selection). "Examples
of memes are tunes, ideas, catch-phrases, clothes fashions,
ways of making pots or of building arches.
Just as genes propagate themselves in the gene pool by leaping
from body to body via sperms or eggs, so memes propagate themselves in
the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the
broad sense, can be called imitation" (Dawkins, 1989, p. 192). Excellent memes website by Susan Blackmore (author of The Meme Machine). |
| Scale-Free Networks (from A.-L. Barabasi). A network of people (or other entities) in which a tiny number of individuals (known as connectors, hubs, or super-spreaders) have a huge number of contacts or linkages, whereas most people have few linkages. An individual who has hundreds or thousands of sexual partners, for example, would be particularly instrumental in the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. One way to remember the term scale free is that some individuals have so many contacts, they're "off the scale." Webpage on scale-free networks. |
| Six Degrees of Separation. Term comes from the social psychologist Stanley Milgram, who in one study sent packages to random people in Nebraska with instructions to get the package to a named person in Boston; the "kicker" was that individuals could only forward the package on to people they knew personally. On average, completed deliveries took six steps. A play and movie by the same name later resulted. A critique of Milgram's small-world studies is available here. |
| Social Norming Approach. The idea is that some people may engage in a behavior because they overestimate how many other people are doing it and feel they must conform to the allegedly widespread behavior to be popular (i.e., "keep up with the Joneses"). The social norming prevention approach seeks to combat this problem by providing more accurate information on the prevalence of a behavior (usually that it is less common than people think). Website for the National Social Norms Resource Center. |
| Structural Properties of Networks. The following website explains properties such as density, reciprocity, and multiplexity. Another website defines different types of network centrality (i.e., which actors are important or heavily involved in the network). |
| Threshold Models (developed by Mark Granovetter). The basic idea is that an individual actor will decide, based on a personal threshold, whether or not to join in some collective action after seeing the number or percent of other people in the group (or area) who have joined in. Discussed in this document, as well as in the books Sync and Six Degrees (see book information below). |
| Tipping Points. See entry below for book The Tipping Point. |
| Conferences |
| NetSci 2006 Workshop and Conference, May, Indiana University Bloomington (Abstract submission form forthcoming, but all other information is currently available) |
| Current Events Related to Information, Networks, and Spreading |
| Article from the Toronto Globe and Mail about SARS "super-spreaders." |
| Article from CNN on claims of "language policing" in textbooks and other areas of writing (thanks to Malinda Colwell for bringing this to my attention). |
| Loss of cultural heritage: Schoolchildren no longer being taught traditional folk songs, according to University of Florida study (news release; see project page in "Research Projects and Programs" section below). |
| New terms added to Oxford English Dictionary, including "bling, bling" (thanks to Gregg Miller for bringing this to my attention). |
| "Flash mobs" hit world scene: Prompted by websites or e-mails, people gather in public places to enact synchronized playful stunts (article). |
| E-mail "small world" study by Duncan Watts and colleagues released (compilation of news stories). |
| Visual spatial (GIS) simulation of disease spread through a city (article). |
| Role of network "link diagrams" in capture of Saddam Hussein. |
| "Retro" sports jerseys become fashion craze; spread contains all the "usual" elements such as a networker and a tipping point. |
| Berkeley graduate student proposes age-cohort replacement theory of persistence of urban legends. |
| Using graph theory to combat terrorist networks. |
| "Plain English" group finds "At the end of the day" to be most irritating cliché -- click here for press release and list of other nominated clichés (thanks to Gregg Miller). |
| American Idol reject William Hung, despite having no singing talent in many people's opinions, becomes national sensation! |
| Issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on "Mapping Knowledge Domains" (free full-text articles). |
| Dude, here's an interesting study of word usage. |
| Article from APA's Psychological Science Agenda on the study of rumor and gossip. |
| UMass researchers develop network-searching algorithm for "Six Degrees" problem. |
| APA Monitor article on "mirror neurons," which may underlie empathy and imitation. |
| Article on spread of "urban myths" in connection with New Orleans hurricane events. |
| For those interested in topology and knot theory approaches to networks, an article on research by Rice University mathematician Shelly Harvey. NEW |
| Pew report on how "The internet helps maintain people's social networks..." NEW |
| Dictionaries of slang, expressions, and terminology (this would appear important to the study of meme survival, given that, as noted above, the Hip-Hop term "bling, bling" has now made it into the Oxford English Dictionary). |
| Beat Generation/Beatnik Dictionary (terms coined by a small group of writers and poets of the 1950's). |
| Hip-Hop Dictionary |
| Instruments for Research |
| Sample network questionnaires from David Krackhardt, to help you develop your own. |
| Journals |
| Journal of Memetics |
| Website of the International Network for Social Network Analysis contains links to four network journals: Connections, Social Networks, Journal of Social Structure, and Revista REDES (Spanish language). |
| Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (includes many network-related articles; just enter "network" in the search field). |
| Review of General Psychology has special issue on gossip (June 2004). |
| Measuring What's "Hot" |
| Yahoo Buzz Index, which ranks topics according to how heavily they are being searched within Yahoo. |
| Polling Report, where you can see (based on scientific polls) where public opinion stands on various issues in the political and cultural realms. |
| Idea Jungle |
| Most common baby names, by year and by decade, going back well over 100 years (maintained by U.S. Social Security Administration). Here's another baby-names site, as well. |
| Memefest (thanks to Charlie Stelle). |
| VH1's 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons (at first you'll see the top 20, but you can scroll down to view other segments of the list). |
| Popular Examples of Cultural Diffusion |
| Yogi Berra-isms and their amazing appeal! |
| Slow change of curse words compared to other kinds of slang (thanks to Maureen O'Sullivan for originally bringing this to my attention). |
| "Jumping the Shark," when something declines in quality and loses popularity (based on the episode of Happy Days when Fonzie jumped over a shark on water skis). The term "jump the shark" is indeed a meme itself, and one that has spread well! |
| "Mondegreens," the official term for misheard song lyrics (from when someone misheard the lyric "laid him on the green" as "Lady Mondegreen"). As Richard Dawkins has written, one of the factors determining meme survival is "copying-fidelity;" lyrics that were not clear, distinct, and conducive to accurate repetition (i.e., those that become Mondegreens) would thus compromise successful meme transmission. Dawkins himself (in The Selfish Gene) used the example of "mutations" to the lyrics of Auld Lang Syne. Resources include a page on the history of Mondegreens, listings of common Mondegreens , and a collection of Mondegreen columns by the San Francisco Chronicle's Jon Carroll. |
| Analysis of political memes (MemeTank by Daily Kos) |
| Professional Associations |
| American Association for Public Opinion Research |
| International Association for Relationship Research |
| International Network for Social Network Analysis |
| Social Psychology Network (not an organization per se, but an important resource for all things social psychological). |
| Society for Personality and Social Psychology |
| Research Projects and Programs (by field) |
| Business/Commerce |
| Stanford study of networks among firms in Silicon Valley, led by pioneering network researcher Mark Granovetter. |
| "Complex Markets" research group from Tel Aviv University. |
| Information Dynamics Group at HP Labs. |
| Research by Dan Brass, University of Kentucky, on networks within organizations. |
| Complexity Perspective on Networks |
| University of Michigan's Center for the Study of Complex Systems |
| George Mason University's Center for Social Complexity |
| Culture |
| Study by Dr. Reifman's Spring 2003 research methods class on the spreading popularity of country singer Pat Green and rapper 50 Cent, using the principles of The Tipping Point. |
| Marilyn Ward's Children's Folk Song Study (as described above in the "Current Events" section). |
| University of Michigan Culture and Cognition Program |
| Northwestern University's Culture, Language and Cognition Program |
| Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television |
| UCLA Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture |
| World Values Survey, studying the distribution of sociopolitical attitudes around the world. |
| Health |
| Dr. Reifman's study of social networks and college-student drinking. |
| Network analysis of teen syphilis outbreak in Rockdale County, Georgia. |
| Dynamics of Networks and Behavior, a collaborative program of the Universities of Groningen, Utrecht, and Maastricht. |
| Network Diffusion Research by Thomas Valente. |
| Memes (General) |
| Imitation research by L.A. Dugatkin; see also my review of his book The Imitation Factor. |
| Psychological Study of Culture, Mark Schaller. |
| Centre for the Evolutionary Analysis of Cultural Behaviour |
| Chip Heath, Stanford University. |
| Dan Sperber, Directeur de Recherche au CNRS, Paris. |
| Networks (General) |
| A.-L. Barabasi's program of research on networks (see below in conjunction with his book Linked). |
| Small
World Research Project, Columbia University (attempting to replicate Milgram's "Six Degrees of Separation" study). |
| Excellent website on "The Transmission of Information in Social Networks and the Environment" (created by Skye Bender-deMoll who, it appears, did much of this work as part of an undergraduate thesis). |
| Santa Fe Institute, whose research portfolio includes a variety of network studies. |
| Barry Wellman, Centre for Urban & Community Studies, University of Toronto. |
| Social Networks Research Group, Portland State University. |
| Paul Beck's papers on personal discussion networks and interpersonal influence on presidential voting choice. |
| Stanley Wasserman, co-author of Social Network Analysis. |
| Katherine Faust, co-author of Social Network Analysis. |
| Linton Freeman, University of California, Irvine. |
| Mark Newman, University of Michigan. |
| Tom Snijders's page on Social Network Analysis. |
| Public Policy |
| Complexity and Public Policy project. |
| Sports |
| Dr. Reifman's paper analyzing basketball passing from a networks framework. |
| Syllabi and Other Educational Resources. Please e-mail me links to yours! |
| Chuck Hill, Whittier College, Course on Diverse Identities |
| Todd Davies, Stanford University, Systems: Theory, Science, and Metaphor |
| Jon Kleinberg, Cornell University, The Structure of Information Networks |
| Bonnie Erickson, University of Toronto, Network Analysis |
| Barry Wellman, University of Toronto, Directory of Courses (also, a PowerPoint of his "Networks for Newbies" presentation, NEW) |
| Ì.A. Boudourides, University of Patras, Greece, Mathematics course entitled "Networks" (this syllabus links to other ones, as well) |
| Mark Newman, University of Michigan, Complex Systems/Network Theory (this syllabus links to other ones, as well) |
| Steve Borgatti, Course 1, Course 2 |
| Kathleen Carley, Carnegie Mellon University, Computational Modeling of Complex Socio-Technical Systems |
| Hanneman & Riddle, Online Textbook "Introduction to Social Network Methods" NEW |
| Websites Associated with Published Books (books with an asterisk [*] by their titles are reviewed in the Article/Book Review section of this website) |
| *The
Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell. Focuses on the
people who pass along ideas ( |
| *Linked, by A.-L. Barabasi. |
| The Psychological Foundations of Culture, new book edited by Mark Schaller and Chris Crandall. |
| *Sync, by Steven Strogatz (scroll down on his page until you see the book); Strogatz was interviewed on C-SPAN cable by Scientific American Frontiers host Alan Alda about this book. |
| Collaborative Circles: Friendship Dynamics and Creative Work, by Michael Farrell. |
| Social Networks, Drug Injectors' Lives, and HIV/AIDS, by Samuel R. Friedman, Richard Curtis, Alan Neaigus, Benny Jose, and Don C. Des Jarlais. See also articles by Dr. Friedman and colleagues in American Journal of Epidemiology (2000), American Journal of Public Health (1997), and elsewhere. |
| *Moneyball, by Michael Lewis, a case history of information diffusion in baseball. Describes how, after years of resistance by major-league baseball teams, statistics developed by baseball "outsiders" (academics, writers) for evaluating players and strategies finally were accepted and used to inform decisions by Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane. |
| Once Upon a Word: True Tales of Word Origins, by Rob Kyff. Learn the origin of various colorful catch-phrases we use in our everyday discourse. |
| *Six Degrees, by Duncan Watts. |
| *Bowling Alone, by Robert Putnam. Discusses the decline in recent decades of Americans' social connections and civic engagement. |
| *The Influentials, by Ed Keller and Jon Berry. Discusses the people in our communities who give advice (and are frequently approached for it) on various consumer-behavior matters. |
| *Tuned Out, by David T.Z. Mindich. Documents and analyzes the trend of young people not following the news. |
| *The Meaning of Sports, by Michael Mandelbaum. Theorizes why baseball, football, and basketball have been popular within the U.S. during particular historical periods. |
| *Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Reports on economist Levitt's research, some of it inspired by the theme, the power of information. |
| Rumor Mills: The Social Impact of Rumor and Legend, edited by Gary A. Fine, Veronique Campion-Vincent, and Chip Heath. |
Note. The fact that, for any given phenomenon listed above, I provide only one or two web links should not be taken to mean that there aren't additional good websites on the phenomenon. I simply try to provide a couple of representative links for a given phenomenon, which anyone can supplement by going to search engines.