Wednesday, 2 November 2005 - 8:25 AM
329b

Efficiently Achieving Consensus by Using Time Wisely

R. Dean Malmgren1, Daniel Diermeier2, Julio M. Ottino1, and Luis A. N. Amaral1. (1) Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, Northwestern University, Tech Room E156, 2145 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208-3120, (2) Kellog School of Business, Northwestern University, Tech Room E156, 2145 Sheridan Rd., Evanston, IL 60208-3120

Recent work by Guimera et al. [1] indicates that successful collaborative networks are developed from a balance of new and old blood. To first approximation, the efficiency of these collaborative networks to reach consensus on a problem depends on (i) the difficulty of the problem addressed and (ii) the fraction of time each individual spends working on his own versus interacting with his peers. We mimic problem difficulty by the likelihood that an individual obtains the correct answer, and we model social interactions by the majority rule, which is efficient even in the presence of noise [2]. We then study the asynchronous dynamics of small-world [3], and collaborative networks [1] to quantify the efficiency of empirical collaborative networks to achieve consensus. Finally, we examine how altering the balance of new and old blood affects the efficiency of collaborative networks to reach consensus


Web Page: amaral.northwestern.edu

See more of #329 - Innovative Modeling and Data Analysis (TD006)
See more of Topical D - Developing Value through Synergistic Collaboration

See more of The 2005 Annual Meeting (Cincinnati, OH)