Contagions across networks: colds and markets

Abstract

We explore a variety of network models describing transmission across a network. In particular we focus on transmission across composite networks, or "networks of networks", in which a finite number of networked objects are then themselves connected together into a network. In a disease context we introduce two interrelated viruses to hosts on a network, to model the infection of hosts in a classroom situation, with high rates of infection within a classroom, and lower rates of infection between classrooms. The hosts can be either susceptible to infection, infected, or recovering from each virus. During the infection stage and recovery stage there is some level of cross-immunity to related viruses. We explore the effects of immunizing sections of the community on transmission through social networks. In a stock market context we introduce memes, or virus-like ideas into a virtual agent-based model of a stock exchange. By varying the parameters of the individual traders and the way in which they are connected we are able to show emergent behaviour, including boom and bust cycles.