keyxyz/social-fabric-of-africa

This project analyzes the Facebook Social Connectedness Index to evaluate Uganda and Kenya's importance in the African social network and compare their global social connectedness. A research project submitted as a part of the completion of Kujenga AI Course. Authored by Henry Ssenono > [!IMPORTANT] > > *Special thanks to the course instructors for designing a curriculum that made ideas like PageRank, epidemic modelling, and regression feel not just learnable but genuinely applicable to questions that matter close to home.* ## Overview Social connections across national borders can provide insight into how countries are socially integrated within regional and global networks. This project uses the Facebook Social Connectedness Index (SCI) to examine the position of Uganda within these networks, using Kenya as a comparison because both countries are located in East Africa but may occupy different positions within the wider African social network. The study looks at social connectedness from two perspectives. - First, it examines the relative importance of Uganda and Kenya within the African network. - Second, it investigates whether Uganda and Kenya differ significantly in their social connectedness to countries around the world. ## Research Hypothesis The network analysis is used to compare the relative importance of Uganda and Kenya within Africa. For the global comparison, the study tests whether the two countries differ significantly in their social connectedness. - Null hypothesis (H 0 ): Uganda and Kenya have equal levels of global social connectedness. - Alternative hypothesis (H 1 ): Uganda and Kenya have different levels of global social connectedness. The analysis therefore begins by examining their positions within the African network and then tests whether the observed differences extend to their global connections. ## Research Questions 1. How important is Uganda and Kenya in the African social network as measured by the Facebook Social Connectedness Index? 2. Are Ugandans more socially connected than Kenyans in the global network? ## Dataset **Facebook Social Connectedness Index (SCI)** was published by Meta Resea …