TY - JOUR
T1 - Self-similar community structure in a network of human interactions
AU - Guimerà, R.
AU - Danon, Leon
AU - Díaz-Guilera, A.
AU - Giralt, F.
AU - Arenas, A.
PY - 2003/12
Y1 - 2003/12
N2 - We propose a procedure for analyzing and characterizing complex networks. We apply this to the social network as constructed from email communications within a medium sized university with about 1700 employees. Email networks provide an accurate and nonintrusive description of the flow of information within human organizations. Our results reveal the self-organization of the network into a state where the distribution of community sizes is self-similar. This suggests that a universal mechanism, responsible for emergence of scaling in other self-organized complex systems, as, for instance, river networks, could also be the underlying driving force in the formation and evolution of social networks.
AB - We propose a procedure for analyzing and characterizing complex networks. We apply this to the social network as constructed from email communications within a medium sized university with about 1700 employees. Email networks provide an accurate and nonintrusive description of the flow of information within human organizations. Our results reveal the self-organization of the network into a state where the distribution of community sizes is self-similar. This suggests that a universal mechanism, responsible for emergence of scaling in other self-organized complex systems, as, for instance, river networks, could also be the underlying driving force in the formation and evolution of social networks.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84923227908&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevE.68.065103
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevE.68.065103
M3 - Article (Academic Journal)
C2 - 14754250
AN - SCOPUS:1842616539
SN - 1539-3755
VL - 68
JO - Physical Review E: Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
JF - Physical Review E: Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
IS - 6
M1 - 065103
ER -