15th March 2010, 6:00pm
Complex Contagions, Dr Damon Centola (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Abstract
Network science is a growing field of interest ranging from sociology to physics. A primary goal of this field is to understand how the connectedness of a population (the topological structure of social ties) affects whether, and how fast, information, diseases, and behaviours will spread. Damon Centola’s research on the dynamics of diffusion across social networks has implications for developing public health interventions, promoting products, and understanding cultural diffusion and social integration. His core sociological interest is how individual actions aggregate to produce (often unexpected) collective outcomes. This includes the mobilization of social movements, the self-organization of ethnic communities and cultural enclaves, the spread of health behaviours (such as vaccination, dieting, and condom use), and the coordination of collective beliefs (such as religious extremism and social sanctioning practices).
Venue: B3.02, Zeeman Building (Maths and Stats), University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL
No charge is made to attend meetings and non-members are welcome.
