In class we discussed network dynamics in terms of “diffusion of innovation” and behavior changing dynamics within a population setting. This model can hold true to a host of different innovations and behaviors- neither of which must be positive or negative influence on the population.

An article that I came across that I found particularly interesting highlight both the spread of HIV through a population and the behavior changing results from the spread of the outbreak. Published in the Official Journal of AIDS Society publication, the paper details the outbreak of an HIV epidemic- and is used as a model for real outbreaks of the disease and centered around a previously studied 3 year outbreak of the disease/   In assessing behavioral changes, because of the complexity of the model that was constructed, the authors “assigned each person a risk configuration based on the sum of sexual partners plus needle-sharing partners divided by the total number of possible relationships (i.e., four times the number of contacts named, since a respondent could name up to four types of relationships with a contact)… estimated risk behavior as the sum of needle-sharing partners plus sexual partners (adjusted for condom use) plus drug-using partners (multiplied by 0.5 to adjust for unreported risk) plus social partners (multiplied by 0.1 to adjust for unreported risk) divided by the number of actual connections.” The paper then delves into the statistical methods, structure, stability, and behavioral changes within the model to produce a concise and realistic representation of how people reacted to the outbreak and how the outbreak spreads in response to that reaction. This article was intriguing to me because of the sheer depth of insight and thought that went into this model and the combination of real statistical data and application of network dynamics as a model of this data. That is, the authors were able to analyze the outbreak from both a theoretical and statistical standpoint to better understand the dynamics and structure of HIV throughout a population.

http://www.aidsonline.com/pt/re/aids/pdfhandler.00002030-199812000-00016.pdf;jsessionid=LX2FT1sfsP4WtZN2V8dtK4Gbz14RS4Lmbnv5vyBrVdj063LnpJRk!1379360954!181195629!8091!-1