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Guam Network

The images on this page can be explored to identify colleagues who are connected in the Guam network. The first map, colored by region, can be used to identify Guam professionals who are well connected in the local network and/or internationally. International professionals using this map could also search by their own country’s color for current collaborators who are connected in Guam. The second map, colored by profession, allows for a somewhat more targeted search for colleagues in certain fields. Professionals can use this map to identify current or potential collaborators, and their interdisciplinary colleagues, whose professions include work with various sectors that overlap with climate change.

For example, to find potential collaborators in Guam who work in agriculture:

  1. Follow the link to the high resolution map–Participants by Profession–and download the Original high resolution size (may take a while to load)
  2. Zoom in on the light green areas (Agriculture)
  3. Find the agriculture contacts with the greatest centrality
  4. Search their connections to find colleagues you have in common

Guam Network Map 1: Participants by Country

CLICK HERE for High Resolution map image. Download the “Original (10024 x 10024)” size.

Country Color Code

Guam Centric Eigenvector Region FA2

What is this map?

This map centers on Guam. The 297 members of this map are based in Guam or are connected to at least one person in Guam, as reported in the Pacific RISA Network Analysis project. This map uses a layout algorithm called Force Atlas 2, available in the Gephi Network Analysis software. This layout algorithm automatically spreads the participants into patterns or clusters. This map colors participants according to their country or region. The size of the circle indicates Eigenvector Centrality (see below for definition).

What can we learn from it?

From this map, we can see the “Guam cluster” that was apparent in the Full Network maps. It is very apparent that climate change professionals from Guam are strongly connected to one another, and also have a great deal of connections to climate change professionals in other countries. In fact, the 48 Guamanian professionals who participated in the survey or were listed by their colleagues have noted connections to 249 professionals from other countries.

Guam Network Map 2: Participants by Profession

CLICK HERE for High Resolution map image. Download the “Original (10024 x 10024)” size.

Profession Color Code

Guam Centric Eigenvector Profession FA2

What is this map?

This map is composed of the exact same people, connections, layout algorithm, and centrality as the map above. This map colors participants according to their profession.

It is important to note that most of the climate change professionals in our region wear multiple hats—e.g., their position makes them educators AND scientists AND conservationists, or they practice multiple scientific disciplines at their job, or they have multiple jobs. Therefore, job titles and color coding do not necessarily represent the full scope of that person’s position, and should be used as a guideline only.

What can we learn from it?

The Guam network has few apparent professional clusters (note, e.g., Climate Science and Meteorology–bright red; Conservation–olive green; and Marine Biology–blue. The strongest apparent cluster is composed of professionals who work within “Climate Science and Meteorology” fields. Even this strong cluster is well connected to other professions, particularly through two of the Climate Science and Meteorology “hubs” Chip Guard and Mark Lander. The other apparent clusters are less dense and are also well connected to other professions. Network hubs Laura Biggs and Trina Leberer have strong connections within their fields, but also have many strong connections with colleagues in other fields. Guam’s professional network map is quite interconnected.

Who are the most central people on these maps?

Centrality can be measured in different ways; each measure means something different. The following table lists the ten “most central” people in the Guam network, according to different measures of centrality. See below for definitions.

Guam Centrality Table

Why are some of these numbers different than those for the Full Network Map 

Some measures of centrality are relational and therefore change as the size and shape of the map change. For example, closeness centrality is calculated according to the distance across the network. Therefore, a person with the same connections in a large or small graph will have a different closeness centrality accordingly.

Degree centrality is the number of people you have listed connections to in this region. It is measured from 0 (no connections) to the network population minus one.

Eigenvector centrality looks at a person’s position within the network, basically measuring each person’s centrality according to the centrality of their connections. It is measured from 0 to 1 (highest eigenvector centrality in the network).

Closeness centrality is the inverse of farness, which is the sum of how many hops one must make to connect to all others in the network.

Betweenness centrality considers how many shortest paths between pairs of people across the network pass through a given person. Oftentimes, there are multiple shortest paths between a pair, so betweenness centrality calculates the fraction of these shortest paths that go through the target person, and then adds all of the fractions from all possible pairs.

Triads are formed when two people you are connected to are also connected to each other. Triads show interconnected relationships within communities.

Who are the most peripheral people on these maps?

80 of the 297 people on these maps are connected to only one person. Are these people unimportant? Do they really only work with one person in Guam? The answer to these questions is a resounding no! Not everyone who is listed on these maps participated in the survey. These climate change professionals are important enough to the network that our survey participants took the time to think of them and list their names as important contacts regarding climate change, weather, and the environment. They come from all different fields and from all over the Pacific and world. They are likely connected with others in Guam, and it is our hope that future studies can further capture their participation and connections.

Confidentiality

If you zoom in on the high resolution images above, you may find that many people are listed by sector only, and not by their names. These people could not be contacted or did not give their permission for their names to appear, and so we are respecting their privacy.

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