Communication Pattern and Network Structure

A communication pattern specifies the source, destination and other parameters associated with the connection.

A perfect system will have 100 percent detection effectiveness and 0 percent false positives, but this is not always possible.

Annual review of communications, vol 59, p.559

For communication scholars, we are all longing for a perfect communication pattern, which will make our world a better place. But this is not always possible in the real world. So we try to find out the important determinants or obstacles within communication patterns. Sometimes we find that gender, age, and other demographic attributes are important. Sometimes we find that people are embedded in a structure and we are manipulated by invisible hands. Which one is right? Maybe there is not absolute right or wrong. But I still want to know which one is more right?

Although the new science of network study is very popular in many fields, I am not convinced by the premise that communication patterns are heavily affected by network structure sometimes. How heavy is "heavy”? When is the "sometimes”?