CAREER: Networked Game Theory and Mechanism Design

职业：网络博弈论和机制设计

• 批准号: 1055020
• 负责人: Jason Hartline
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: Northwestern University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-03-01 至 2014-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1055020&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Networked; Game; Theory; Mechanism

This CAREER project studies the theoretical properties underlying social networks. The focus of the research is two-fold: first, models are created to explain the formation and evolution of social networks. Particular emphasis is placed on the co-evolution of social networks and social behaviors such as smoking or the choice of profession. Next, these models are leveraged to help social planners build systems for networked societies that, say, maximize the spread of a particular social norm or generate large revenue from the sale of a socially-enabled product. The proposed modeling techniques combine economic theory and stochastic processes with standard graph theory in order to generate models that capture both the self-motivated interests of individuals in social networks as well as the randomness inherent in social interactions. The induced social planning problems are often computationally-intractable, so the proposed techniques also incorporate approximation algorithms and average-case analysis in an attempt to design practical and efficient systems.The broader impact of the proposed research will be to increase awareness and understanding of the power of social networks, enabling more effective and efficient design of systems that operate in the context of social networks. Such advances can be used to create and facilitate social networking platforms by guiding the network evolution, to promote socially-beneficial behaviors such as anti-smoking norms or charitable contributions, and to help stimulate the economy by increasing revenues of socially-oriented products. The PI will also pursue several educational and outreach efforts, focusing on individuals outside standard academic institutions. The PI will reach out to high school students and working adults through popular science articles and Science Cafes. Additionally, the PI will disseminate knowledge to developing nations such as Iran, the West Bank, and Uganda through onsite summer schools in an effort to promote the science and education that are fundamental and essential for those nations' futures.

该职业项目研究社交网络的理论特性。 研究重点有两个：首先，创建模型来解释社交网络的形成和演化。特别强调社交网络和社会行为（例如吸烟或职业选择）的共同进化。接下来，这些模型被用来帮助社会规划者为网络社会构建系统，例如最大化特定社会规范的传播或通过销售社交产品产生大量收入。 所提出的建模技术将经济理论和随机过程与标准图论相结合，以生成能够捕获社交网络中个人的自我激励兴趣以及社交互动中固有的随机性的模型。引发的社会规划问题通常在计算上难以处理，因此所提出的技术还结合了近似算法和平均案例分析，试图设计实用且高效的系统。所提出的研究的更广泛影响将是提高对社会规划的认识和理解社交网络的力量，能够更有效和高效地设计在社交网络背景下运行的系统。 这些进步可用于通过指导网络发展来创建和促进社交网络平台，促进反吸烟规范或慈善捐款等有益于社会的行为，并通过增加面向社会的产品的收入来帮助刺激经济。 PI 还将开展多项教育和推广工作，重点关注标准学术机构之外的个人。 PI 将通过科普文章和科学咖啡馆接触高中生和上班族。 此外，PI还将通过现场暑期学校向伊朗、约旦河西岸和乌干达等发展中国家传播知识，努力促进对这些国家的未来至关重要的科学和教育。