BlogPost #033

(#33) Antonio Longa - 18th April, 2024
University of Trento (Italy)

Talk recording (Youtube)

RESEARCH TALK
"The role of Egocentric Perspective in Temporal Networks"

Abstract: 

Temporal networks play a crucial role in modeling and understanding time-dependent systems, spanning from social interactions to biological processes. Over time, network science has developed numerous measures for analyzing and comparing temporal networks. Some of these methods involve breaking down the network into smaller interaction segments, focusing on a limited number of nodes over a short time span. Along this line, one approach is to adopt an egocentric perspective, considering the temporal evolution of each node's neighborhood. In this talk, we introduce techniques based on the egocentric viewpoint, specifically focusing on the concept of Egocentric Temporal Neighborhoods (ETNs). Furthermore, we demonstrate how this concept can be extended to include labeled nodes (LETNs) and higher-order interactions (HETNs). Finally, we illustrate how these structures can be utilized to generate surrogate temporal networks (ETN-gen).

DISCUSSION
"Journals vs Conferences (with proceedings)"

Abstract: 

In the Machine Learning field, researchers frequently opt to publish their work in conferences, whereas in network science, there is a preference for journal publications, with conferences serving as venues for presenting research findings. In this discussion, I will present the distinctions between journals and conferences, outlining what, from my perspective, are the advantages and disadvantages of each.


Is choosing between publishing in a journal or conference proceedings a matter of preference or strategy? After the Easter break, Antonio Longa from University of Trento and Fondazione Bruno Kessler, discussed it during our last seminar on April 18th.



In the first part of the talk, titled The role of Egocentric Perspective in Temporal Networks; Antonio introduced the concept of Egocentric Temporal Neighborhoods (ETNs) and illustrated how these structures can be utilized to generate surrogate temporal networks.


Starting from his experience in two different fields (Machine Learning and Complex Systems), in the second part, he presented the distinctions between publishing in journals and conferences, outlining the advantages and disadvantages of each.


From our discussion, it turns out that sometimes it's a matter of preference, but most of the time, we don’t really have a choice. It depends on the field we are working in and the benefits we want to obtain from this publication.

The discussion is still open, if you want to share your opinion leave a comment on our Twitter page! The talk is available on our Youtube channel.