Single contagion processes are known to display a continuous transition from an epidemic-free phase at low contagion rates to the epidemic state for rates above a critical threshold. This transition can become discontinuous when two simple contagion …
In this Chapter, we discuss the effects of higher-order structures on SIS-like processes of social contagion. After a brief motivational introduction where we illustrate the standard SIS process on networks and the difference between simple and …
How can minorities of individuals overturn social conventions? The theory of critical mass states that when a committed minority reaches a critical size, a cascade of behavioural changes can occur, overturning apparently stable social norms. Evidence …
Our network of acquaintances determines how we get exposed to ideas, products, or cultural artworks (books, music, movies, etc.). Though this principle is part of our common sense, little is known about the specific pathways through which our …
Contagion phenomena are often the results of multibody interactions—such as superspreading events or social reinforcement—describable as hypergraphs. We develop an approximate master equation framework to study contagions on hypergraphs with a …
Complex networks represent the natural backbone to study epidemic processes in populations of interacting individuals. Such a modeling framework, however, is naturally limited to pairwise interactions, making it less suitable to properly describe …
Adoption processes in socio-technological systems have been widely studied both empirically and theoretically. The way in which social norms, behaviors, and even items such as books, music or other commercial or technological product spread in a …
Complex networks have been successfully used to describe the social structure on top of which many real-world social processes take place. In this thesis, I focus on the development of network models that aim at capturing the fundamental mechanisms …
Due to the emergence of new technologies, the whole electricity system is undergoing transformations on a scale and pace never observed before. The decentralization of energy resources and the smart grid have forced utility services to rethink their …