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SUMMARY:Rich clubs and control benefits: A resource-based perspective on c
 ore-periphery structures in complex networks - Pietro Panzarasa\, Queen Ma
 ry\, University of London
DTSTART:20121120T110000Z
DTEND:20121120T120000Z
UID:TALK41098@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Petra Vertes
DESCRIPTION:Research on core-periphery structures has converged on the ide
 a that participation in core groups is a source of control benefits\, legi
 timacy\, entrenchment\, and power. Despite the ubiquity and salience of co
 re-periphery structures\, however\, there seems to be no agreement on how 
 to define the core of a system. Previous studies have placed emphasis prim
 arily on the level of topological coupling among the elements of a system\
 , and selected as members of core groups those elements that are tightly c
 onnected with one another. However\, whether topological coupling always c
 orrelates with control benefits and system dominance still remains largely
  unanswered. Do tightly knit groups always bestow control benefits upon th
 eir members? Or can a group of loosely connected elements dominate a syste
 m simply by leveraging on few yet strong linkages? To address these proble
 ms\, in this talk I will adopt the framework of network theory and advocat
 e a resource-based perspective on core-periphery structures. At the heart 
 of this perspective is the idea that\, when all elements of a system can b
 e ranked according to some arbitrary richness parameter\, the prominent on
 es at the top of the ranking may coalesce into exclusive rich clubs to gai
 n control over the whole system. A group is qualified as a rich club when 
 the amount of resources that members exchange with one another is dispropo
 rtionally large when compared with other resources circulating in the syst
 em. Participation in rich clubs thus provides members with control benefit
 s originating from collusions that secure exclusive access to resources. I
  situate the analysis of rich clubs in the context of transportation\, hum
 an mobility\, scientific collaboration\, and online communication. Finding
 s show that rich clubs can be detected in transportation and commuting sys
 tems\, where more passengers travel between the largest airports than rand
 omly expected\, and the largest commuting locations or regions in a countr
 y tend to control and direct towards one another the vast majority of comm
 uters. Similarly\, rich clubs emerge in the scientific community\, where t
 he most productive scientists tend to engage in stronger collaborations th
 an expected by chance. Furthermore\, rich clubs in online communication ar
 ise as a result of the tendency of the most gregarious users to exchange a
  disproportionally large amount of messages with one another. The implicat
 ions of these findings for research on core-periphery structures and the m
 anagement and distribution of resources in complex networks will be discus
 sed.
LOCATION:BCNI seminar room\, Sir William Hardy Building\, Downing Site
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