[Research Seminar] Management Information System: “From points to paths: two papers about path theory” B. PENTLAND – Michigan State University
Speaker: Brian PENTLAND
Michigan State University
Date and Location – Thursday September 26th 2023 from 14:00 to 16:00
in Paris campus (PR13) Zoom
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ABSTRACT
Paths are coherent, temporally ordered sequences of actions or events. In this talk, I plan to discuss two papers that use the concept of paths. The first paper is a theoretical discussion of the systemic nature of temporal structuring in practice.
The central idea is simple: when paths intersect, it creates temporal interdependence, which has a powerful influence on the timing of activities along
a path and therefore, the Eigenzeit of the path. To theorize about this process, we introduce the concept of a path network, which emerges from intersections between paths as they are enacted. The second paper is a quantitative analysis about the tendency of paths to form and persist after a disruption.
In that paper, we use data from an Electronic Health Record system to show that coherent paths are up to 14 times more likely to persist and up to 40 times more likely to form than less coherent paths in the narrative networks that represent outpatient clinical routines. We argue that path networks have implications for inertia and resilience. It is useful to discuss these papers together because they fit in a larger perspective on paths, path networks and path theory.