TITLE:
Temporal Analysis of the Diffusion of Knowledge in Networks of Software Maintenance and Development Project Team
AUTHORS:
Jorge Luiz dos Santos, Renelson Ribeiro Sampaio
KEYWORDS:
Knowledge Diffusion, Complex Networks, Social Networks, Temporal Networks
JOURNAL NAME:
Social Networking,
Vol.8 No.3,
July
30,
2019
ABSTRACT: Different approaches have been established for applications of social and
complex networks involving biological systems, passing through collaborative
systems in knowledge networks and organizational systems. In this latter
application, we highlight the studies focused on the diffusion of information and knowledge in
networks. However, most of the time, the propagation of information in these networks and the resulting process of creation and diffusion of knowledge, have
been studied from static perspectives. Additionally, the very concept of diffusion inevitably implies the inclusion of the
temporal dimension, due to that it is an essentially dynamic process. Although static analysis provides an
important perspective in structural terms, the behavioral view that reflects
the evolution of the relationships of the members of these networks over time
is best described by temporal networks. Thus, it is possible to analyze both
the information flow and the structural changes that occur over time, which influences the dynamics of the
creation and diffusion of knowledge. This article describes the computational
modeling used to elucidate the creation and diffusion of knowledge in temporal
networks formed to execute software maintenance and construction projects, for
the period between 2007 and 2013, in the SERVIÇO FEDERAL DE
PROCESSAMENTO DE DADOS (FEDERAL DATA PROCESSING SERVICE-SERPRO)—a public organization that provides
information and communication technology services. The methodological approach
adopted for the study was based on techniques for analyzing social and complex
networks and on the complementary extensions that address temporal modeling of
these networks. We present an exploratory longitudinal study that enabled a dynamic and structural analysis of the knowledge networks
formed by members of software maintenance and development project teams between
2007 and 2013. The study enabled identification of knowledge categories
throughout this period, in addition to the determination that the networks have a structure with small-world
and scale-free models. Finally, we concluded that, in general, the topologies
of the networks studies had
characteristics for facilitating the flow of knowledge within the organization.