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Certificate of Completion
THIS ACKNOWLEDGES THAT
HAS COMPLETED THE MAY-SUMMER 2024 DATA SCIENCE BOOT CAMP
Jungbae An
Roman Holowinsky, PhD
JUNE 10, 2024
DIRECTOR
DATE
TEAM
Influential Actors in Communication Networks
Adam Perhala, Jungbae An
An influential actor can spread information to others in a communication network, and thus change the attitudes of others by doing so. By identifying influential actors, we can track the flow of information about a policy or product and the resulting attitudinal changes, and utilize this influence to intervene in people's attitudes or to undermine abusive interventions. In this project, we show and test a framework for detecting influential actors in the standing committee hearings in the U.S. House of Representatives–one of the communication networks of policymakers utilizing policy-relevant expertise. The influential actors identified by our framework are consistent with the relevant literature. Our detection framework can be used to optimize decision-making that leverages communication networks such as disinformation and mobilizing attention.