Diffusion of Innovations on Random Networks: Understanding the Chasm

Author(s):  
Marc Lelarge
2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Valente ◽  
George G. Vega Yon

This study models how new ideas, practices, or diseases spread within and between communities, the diffusion of innovations or contagion. Several factors affect diffusion such as the characteristics of the initial adopters, the seeds; the structure of the network over which diffusion occurs; and the shape of the threshold distribution, which is the proportion of prior adopting peers needed for the focal individual to adopt. In this study, seven seeding conditions are modeled: (1) three opinion leadership indicators, (2) two bridging measures, (3) marginally positioned seeds, and (4) randomly selected seeds for comparison. Three network structures are modeled: (1) random, (2) small-world, and (3) scale-free. Four threshold distributions are modeled: (1) normal; (2) uniform; (3) beta 7,14; and (4) beta 1,2; all of which have a mean threshold of 33%, with different variances. The results show that seeding with nodes high on in-degree centrality and/or inverse constraint has faster and more widespread diffusion. Random networks had faster and higher prevalence of diffusion than scale-free ones, but not different from small-world ones. Compared with the normal threshold distribution, the uniform one had faster diffusion and the beta 7,14 distribution had slower diffusion. Most significantly, the threshold distribution standard deviation was associated with rate and prevalence such that higher threshold standard deviations accelerated diffusion and increased prevalence. These results underscore factors that health educators and public health advocates should consider when developing interventions or trying to understand the potential for behavior change.


Mousaion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Elia ◽  
Stephen Mutula ◽  
Christine Stilwell

This study was part of broader PhD research which investigated how access to, and use of, information enhances adaptation to climate change and variability in the agricultural sector in semi-arid Central Tanzania. The research was carried out in two villages using Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory and model to assess the dissemination of this information and its use by farmers in their adaptation of their farming practices to climate change and variability. This predominantly qualitative study employed a post-positivist paradigm. Some elements of a quantitative approach were also deployed in the data collection and analysis. The principal data collection methods were interviews and focus group discussions. The study population comprised farmers, agricultural extension officers and the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa project manager. Qualitative data were subjected to content analysis whereas quantitative data were analysed to generate mostly descriptive statistics using SPSS.  Key findings of the study show that farmers perceive a problem in the dissemination and use of climate information for agricultural development. They found access to agricultural inputs to be expensive, unreliable and untimely. To mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and variability on farming effectively, the study recommends the repackaging of current and accurate information on climate change and variability, farmer education and training, and collaboration between researchers, meteorology experts, and extension officers and farmers. Moreover, a clear policy framework for disseminating information related to climate change and variability is required.


Mousaion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blessing Mbatha

This study investigated the usage and types of information and communications technologies (ICTs) accessible to community members in four selected Thusong Service Centres (TSCs or telecentres) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The telecentres that participated in the study were: Nhlazuka, Mbazwane, Dududu and Malangeni. The study was informed by Rogers’ (1995) Diffusion of Innovations (DoI) theory. Through a survey, four TSCs were purposively selected. A questionnaire was used to collect data from community members in the four telecentres involved. The data collected was tabulated under the various headings and presented using tables, frequencies, percentiles and generalisations with the help of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results indicated that a variety of ICT tools have been adopted in the TSCs to provide the local community with the much-needed access to information and improved communication. The government should ensure that adequate varieties and levels of ICT competence are offered to all the citizens. In conclusion, there is a need for sufficient and coherent government policies regulating the training of the local community to use these ICTs effectively.


Author(s):  
A.V. GOLUBEV ◽  

The diffusion of innovations is described as a process in a number of scientific papers. At the same time, the causes of this process have not been sufficiently studied. The author’s goal is to consider the main regularities, under which the life cycle of innovations begins, and propose measures to enhance diffusion in modern conditions. As a scientific hypothesis, the author accepts the postulate about the primary role of the obolescence of attracted innovations in this process. The analysis revealed not only the economic proportions that initiate the start of innovation promotion, but also the influence on the diffusion rate of the obsolescence degree of innovations and the market share occupied by the new product. Methodological approaches have been developed to determine economic efficiency depending on the moment of technological change-over, as well as to determine the absolute and relative speed of innovation diffusion. Sociological studies were conducted to determine the state of innovation development and the time lag between obtaining information about an innovation and its practical implementation. The author presents his “Agroopyt” information system developed to disseminate knowledge in the agricultural sphere and ensure technology transfer in agriculture. Digital methods provide for significant accelerateion of the diffusion of innovations and expand its scope.


THE BULLETIN ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (385) ◽  
pp. 151-159
Author(s):  
L. S. Spankulova ◽  
◽  
M. A. Kaneva ◽  
Z. K. Chulanova ◽  
◽  
...  

Entropy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (8) ◽  
pp. 976
Author(s):  
R. Aguilar-Sánchez ◽  
J. Méndez-Bermúdez ◽  
José Rodríguez ◽  
José Sigarreta

We perform a detailed computational study of the recently introduced Sombor indices on random networks. Specifically, we apply Sombor indices on three models of random networks: Erdös-Rényi networks, random geometric graphs, and bipartite random networks. Within a statistical random matrix theory approach, we show that the average values of Sombor indices, normalized to the order of the network, scale with the average degree. Moreover, we discuss the application of average Sombor indices as complexity measures of random networks and, as a consequence, we show that selected normalized Sombor indices are highly correlated with the Shannon entropy of the eigenvectors of the adjacency matrix.


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