PROGRAM OVERVIEW

pre-conference workshops

Wednesday 26 November 2025

There will be a number of 3-hour workshops on the day before the conference starts at the Byron Bay Community Centre. Timings are: Morning Workshops (9:30-12:30) and Afternoon Workshops (1:30-4:30).

Workshop 1 - A Beginner’s Guide to SNA - Dean Lusher and Peng Wang (9:30am -12:30pm)

Interested in Social Networks but do not really know too much about them and want to find out more? Have you had some experience with social networks some time ago and feel you need a refresher? Or are you a complete newbie and want to learn the basics? Then if so, this is the class for you. We will start by articulating what is different about a social network approach compared to other research perspectives. We will introduce you to network terminology (e.g., ‘node’ and ‘tie’). You will be introduced to social network concepts (e.g., reciprocity, brokerage, closure), how to identify them using SNA software and how to interpret them. This will be a hands-on workshop where you can use your own laptop (PC or Mac) with web-based software for social networks. We will show you how to structure your data, how to visualise your network and understand its insights. Sound good? See you there.

Workshop 2 - Fluctuating Opinions in Social Networks: A tutorial in Bayesian Learning Methods - Farhad Farokhi, Nicholas Kah Yean Low, Yutong Bu, Jarra Horstman (1:30pm – 4:30pm)

This workshop was delivered at SUNBELT Paris 2025 on 24/06/2025.

See webapp for the workshop.

"Theoretical studies of opinion formation and evolution in social networks often focus on convergence to a set of steady-state opinions, namely asymptotic learning (with or without consensus).  This is often motivated by the desire to seek an 'equilibrium' according to various definitions from statistical physics, control engineering, or economics.  In many real social settings, however, it is observed empirically that opinions do not converge to a steady state; instead, they fluctuate indefinitely.  This interdisciplinary workshop has three goals: (i) to introduce attendees to fundamental theoretical tools based on Bayesian inference that are suitable for modelling opinions and their evolution; (ii) to highlight some counter-intuitive yet realistic social phenomena that emerge when applying these tools; and (iii) to bring together practitioners from different knowledge domains (e.g. media studies, political science, education, artificial intelligence, social sciences, complex systems, and network sciences), who aspire to apply the tools to real-life systems.  Specifically, we begin with an introduction to Bayesian statistics and belief propagation over networks.  This enables us to learn the underlying tools required for modelling and analysis of opinion evolution across social networks.  At this stage, we will also review some results on asymptotic learning on social networks facilitated by Bayesian inference. We then delve into a new model of opinion formation and evolution by enmeshing Bayesian learning and peer interactions.  As an illustrative example, we consider a scenario where networked agents form beliefs about the political bias of a media organisation through consumption of media products, and peer pressure from political allies and opponents.  To capture the multi-modal nature of opinions (individuals can hold contradictory beliefs with different levels of certainty), we model the agents' beliefs as probability distribution functions.  In certain network structures, numerical simulations reveal counter-intuitive predictions, such as wrong conclusions being reached quicker with more certainty, turbulent non-convergence (some agents cannot  “make up their mind” and vacillate in their beliefs), and intermittency (agents' beliefs flip between stable eras, where their beliefs do not vary over many time steps, and turbulent eras, where their beliefs fluctuate from one time step to the next).  We will also consider belief disruption by partisans, i.e. stubborn agents who do not change their beliefs.  If time permits, attendees will receive practical, hands-on instruction in coding the methods covered during the workshop.

Workshop materials are available at : https://github.com/YutongB/Opinion-Dynamics

Workshop 3 - Collecting and Analysing Online Networks with VOSON R tools (9:30am - 12:30pm) - Cancelled

Workshop 4 - ERGMs using statnet - Pavel Krivitsky (9:30am -12:30pm)

"This workshop provides a hands-on tutorial to using exponential-family random graph models (ERGMs) for statistical analysis of social networks, using the {ergm} package in the Statnet suite. The {ergm} package provides tools for the specification, estimation, assessment and simulation of ERGMs that incorporate the complex dependencies within networks. Topics covered in this workshop include:

* an overview of the ERGM framework;

* types of terms used in ERGMs

* defining and fitting models to empirical data;

* interpreting model coefficients;

* goodness-of-fit and model adequacy checking;

* simulation of networks using fitted ERG models;

* degeneracy assessment and avoidance."

Workshop 5 - Advanced Network Modelling with statnet - Pavel Krivitsky (1:30pm – 4:30pm) - Cancelled

day 1 - conference

Thursday 27 November 2025

Conference registration will be open from 8:30am. We will begin with a special Welcome to Arakwal Country by Delta Kay. Conference presentations will go from 9am - 5pm, but with a number of breaks during the day. Morning tea and lunch will be provided.

Thursday 27 November – 69 Jonson Street Byron Bay

8:30am - 9:00am Registration

Session 1

9:00am - 9:20am Welcome to Country and Conference Opening

9:25am - 9:45am Michael Small - Patient treatment networks

9:50am - 10:10am Anjali Yadav - Mapping Risk Perception Networks and Information Diffusion in the Context of Water Pollution along the Ganges River

10:15am - 10:35am Dan Chamberlain - The How and Why of Capturing Movement through Events

10:35am - 11:00am Morning Tea

Session 2

11:05am - 11:25am Petr Matous - Community Networks as Barriers, Amplifiers and Consequences of Agricultural Development Programs

11:30am - 11:50am Tracey Abell - Inferring broader network insights by combining egonets. A farmer adaptation knowledge system case study.

11:55am - 12:15pm Bridget McGlynn - Social Network Performance Indicators for Environmental Management

12:20pm - 12:40pm. Henry Bartelet - Who Benefits, Who Decides? Participatory Network Mapping of a Major Climate Adaptation Project

12:45pm - 1:05pm Angela Guerrero – Strong Ties and Social Influence: Insights from Coffee Farmers’ Social Networks

1:05pm - 2:30pm Lunch

Session 3

2:30pm - 2:50pm Malcolm Alexander - Withdrawn

2:55pm - 3:15pm Jonathan Januar - Attribute and tie imputation for network analysis in post-disaster communities

3:20pm - 3:40pm Alejandro Espinosa-Rada - Missing data in Network Autocorrelation Models

3:45pm - 4:05pm Pavel Krivitsky - Modelling Rank-Order Networks when the Ordering is Partially Observed

4:10pm - 4:30pm Sidiq Madya - Mapping the Field: Organisational Engagement with Data Sovereignty Online

4:30 - 5:30pm. Drinks at Byron Theatre – 69 Jonson Street Byron Bay

6:30pm onwards Dinner – The Loft - 9/4 Jonson Street Byron Bay

day 2 - conference

Friday 28 November 2025

Day 2 of the conference will have presentations from 9am - 5pm. Morning tea and lunch will again be provided.

Friday 28 November – 69 Jonson Street Byron Bay

Session 1

9:00am - 9:45am Keynote: Jenny Lewis - Using SNA for policy studies: From agenda setting to governance and joined-up service

9:45am - 10:05am Andrew Parker - The effect of brokerage action orientation and structural brokerage on advice network dynamics

10:10am - 10:30am Catalina Espinosa - Sustainable Industry Transitions: Exploring the Influence of Narrative Alignment in Inter-Organisational Networks

10:35 - 11:00am Morning Tea

Session 2

11:05am - 11:25am. Robert Ackland - Analysing Deliberation in Millions of Posts on Twitter/X

11:30am - 11:50am Withdrawn

11:55am - 12:15pm Ivan Belik - Semantic Signals and Network Structure: Rethinking Influence in Digital Communities

12:20pm - 12:40pm Walter Galdames Opazo - Social-Ecological Network Modelling of Development Projects in Coronel, Chile (1990s–2024)

12:45pm – 1:05pm Shathuki Perera – How do Social Networks Influence Resilience in Coral Reef Supply Chains?

1:05pm - 2:30pm Lunch

Session 3

2:30pm - 2:50pm David Bright - The dynamics of co-offending by members of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs

2:55pm - 3:15pm Annatina Aerne - Employer referral networks

3:20pm - 3:40pm Lloyd Rothwell - Gender, Networks, and Succession: A Study of CEOs in Australian Sport Organisations

3:45pm - 4:05pm Neelam Yousef - Strong Ties, Weak Protections: Mapping International Students’ Job Pathways

4:10pm - 4:30pm Dean Lusher - Network Interventions: The Common Ground Project and its impacts on masculinity attitudes and relationships

4:30pm - 5:00pm Closing