agent-based simulation of the diffusion of warnings
Diffusion occurs in various contexts and generally involves a network of entities and interactions between entities. Through these interactions, some property, e.g. information, ideas, etc., is spread through the network. The network may become dynamic as entities in the network interact and information, ideas, etc. flow through the network. This paper presents a general model of diffusion in dynamic networks. We use the model to examine how network structure, seeding strategy, and population inhomogeneity as defined with trust, affects the diffusion process. We simulate an evacuation scenario where the network structure represents a network of households. There are multiple sources that initiate the broadcasts of evacuation warnings and the goals are for the households to propagate the message and perform evacuation. The network dynamics observed are the result of the diffusion, where households may leave the network some time after receiving the warning. The results provide interesting observations on the effects of trust asymmetry and trust differentials. When we introduce population inhomogeneity using trust, the diffusion was more effective. The network structure and the seeding strategy used in delivering the initial broadcast also affect the effectiveness of the diffusion.
diffusion dynamic networks