The fractal structure of communities of practice: Implications for business organization

Webber, Emily C.; Dunbar, R. I. M.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0232204

Cited by 17 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…It may also allow us to determine how optimal these networks are, as well as providing a metric for comparing the efficiency of different networks. Such analyses may, for example, have implications for understanding the efficiency of business organizations since these are often based on hierarchically structured networks of this kind [40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On M-Polynomials of Dunbar Graphs in Social Networks

2020

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Topological indices describe mathematical invariants of molecules in mathematical chemistry. M-polynomials of chemical graph theory have freedom about the nature of molecular graphs and they play a role as another topological invariant. Social networks can be both cyclic and acyclic in nature. We develop a novel application of M-polynomials, the ( m , n , r ) -agent recruitment graph where n > 1 , to study the relationship between the Dunbar graphs of social networks and the small-world phenomenon. We show that the small-world effects are only possible if everyone uses the full range of their network when selecting steps in the small-world chain. Topological indices may provide valuable insights into the structure and dynamics of social network graphs because they incorporate an important element of the dynamical transitivity of such graphs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since then, these have been attracting the attention of many mathematical chemists [30,39] and many others. One may refer [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51] for some extensive works related to above directions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On M-Polynomials of Dunbar Graphs in Social Networks

2020

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“…It is now well-established that the topological structures within human social organizations of all kinds are often self-similar, as local modular clusters are connected to others via multi-tiered interaction networks at constant rates [ 2 , 27 ]. Examples range from hunter-gatherer bands [ 63 ] and online gaming networks [ 41 ], to networks of traders [ 43 ] and self-organized communities of practice [ 49 ]. This self-similarity has now been demonstrated in time too.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A now well-documented feature of human social systems is the often modular and multitiered organization of social networks [2,13,15,[27][28][29]. Examples include of hunter-gatherer social networks [2,27,[30][31][32], small-scale autonomous village societies [29,33], the infrastructure of both ancient and modern cities [34][35][36][37], the internal organization of ancient states and empires [13], and the institutional infrastructure of modern nation-states [36,[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49]. Statistical signatures of these complex social structures are the constant branching structures indicative of self-similarity, and in the scaling behavior of social systems as they increase in size [50].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling human sociopolitical complexity

et al. 2020

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Human societies exhibit a diversity of social organizations that vary widely in size, structure, and complexity. Today, human sociopolitical complexity ranges from stateless small-scale societies of a few hundred individuals to complex states of millions, most of this diversity evolving only over the last few hundred years. Understanding how sociopolitical complexity evolved over time and space has always been a central focus of the social sciences. Yet despite this long-term interest, a quantitative understanding of how sociopolitical complexity varies across cultures is not well developed. Here we use scaling analysis to examine the statistical structure of a global sample of over a thousand human societies across multiple levels of sociopolitical complexity. First, we show that levels of sociopolitical complexity are self-similar as adjacent levels of jurisdictional hierarchy see a four-fold increase in population size, a twofold increase in geographic range, and therefore a doubling of population density. Second, we show how this self-similarity leads to the scaling of population size and geographic range. As societies increase in complexity population density is reconfigured in space and quantified by scaling parameters. However, there is considerable overlap in population metrics across all scales suggesting that while more complex societies tend to have larger and denser populations, larger and denser populations are not necessarily more complex.

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“…The hypothesis has found considerable support, being applied to investigate a range of topics including human social networks and institutional organisation (e.g. Dunbar, 2014;Mac Carron et al, 2016;Webber & Dunbar, 2020), digital social networking (e.g. Dunbar, 2016a;Gonc xalves et al, 2011;Mac Carron et al, 2016), schizophrenia (Burns, 2006), the emergence of language (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The archaeology of the social brain revisited: rethinking mind and material culture from a material engagement perspective

Barona

2020

Adaptive Behavior

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The social brain hypothesis (SBH) has played a prominent role in interpreting the relationship between human social, cognitive and technological evolution in archaeology and beyond. This article examines how the SBH has been applied to the Palaeolithic material record, and puts forward a critique of the approach. Informed by Material Engagement Theory (MET) and its understanding of material agency, it is argued that the SBH has an inherently cognitivist understanding of mind and matter at its core. This Cartesian basis has not been fully resolved by archaeological attempts to integrate the SBH with relational models of cognition. At the heart of the issue has been a lack of meaningful consideration of the cognitive agency of things and the evolutionary efficacy of material engagement. This article proposes MET as a useful starting point for rethinking future approaches to human social cognitive becoming in a way that appreciates the co-constitution of brains, bodies and worlds. It also suggests how MET may bridge archaeological and 4E approaches to reconsider concepts such as the ‘mental template’ and Theory of Mind.

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The fractal structure of communities of practice: Implications for business organization

Cited by 17 publications

References 61 publications

On M-Polynomials of Dunbar Graphs in Social Networks

On M-Polynomials of Dunbar Graphs in Social Networks

Scaling human sociopolitical complexity

The archaeology of the social brain revisited: rethinking mind and material culture from a material engagement perspective

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